The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2
by 27thFloor
Summary: Summer has just begun, what sort of tale will be unraveled as a young man is sent to a fantasy world?
1. The Beginning of Summer

**The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2**

* * *

**Prologue**: "The Beginning of Summer"

_It's summer, isn't it? The sun's burning hot, the sky is bright blue. And even night feels shorter. So..._

"Why am I still here?!"

A young boy leaned back on his chair and glared at the ceiling. He took his hand back and brushed it through his messy brown hair, messy due to him constantly scratching his head or shaking his head as he tried to think of things to write in his notebook. In the end, he just slapped it closed angrily.

"Mr. Blaiiiir, why do I have to do this again?" He directed his anger at his teacher. Mr. Blair raised his head from the book he was reading and replied,

"Luso," He said, "If you need to know the reason, think back to how many times you have been late to school."

"Um..." Luso grabbed his hair again, trying to think. "T-two times?"

Mr. Blair shook his head, "You've been late to class for six times consecutively. Each time, you've interrupted class to yell out 'Sorry Mr. Blair! I'm late again!'"

"So this is your punishment. Write me about two pages worth of reflections on how you've been treating school lately."

Luso glanced down at his closed notebook. He had barely written in it at all. At most, he had written the date and a few simple sentences. Definitely not two pages.

Most definitely, he wouldn't be able to leave for home for a while.

Mr. Blair looked up at the clock, it was nearly two hours after school ended. At this rate, even he wouldn't be able to head home as well. It was his job to supervise any student that stays within school grounds after hours, after all. He kicked himself mentally for giving such a big assignment to one of the biggest slackers in class.

With a sigh, he resigned himself to his fate and returned his attention to his book.

Clatter, thunk.

"Um...Mr. Blair?" A voice came from the doorway, "If you wouldn't mind, can I have a word?"

Mr. Blair looked up from his book again. There appears to be another teacher standing outside in the hallway. Luso lifted his head slightly and stared at the doorway as well. He couldn't see who was talking, the angle was obscuring the visitor.

"Oh, Mr. Randell." Mr. Blair said, "I'll be right there in a minute." He put his book down again and walked out into the hallway. Leaving Luso alone in the empty classroom.

"Aaagh..." Luso groaned. Placing his face against the cool desk, he stared out at the window. The voices of all the children who are out playing under the bright summer sky only intensified his depression.

_What is there to do now? Should I even try to finish this?_ Thought the young boy. _Nah, I'll be let out eventually anyway._

He placed his head back onto the desk and closed his eyes.

_Man, this is boring. I wonder what I should do once I get home?_

_I think I'll just hang out with my friends, maybe we'll all go and play some video games or something, It's summer anyway, I have plenty of time. I can even oversleep again, how nice is that?...well, auntie might yell at me again, but I'm pretty much used to it._

_I'll just tell her that I'll be better next year. Like, I'll be at school on time, and I'll stop letting the dog eat my work on 'accident.' Haha._

_...hey, maybe I can write this as my reflections!_

He hurriedly flipped open his notebook, tore out the first page and started scribbling down his thoughts.

_...and I'll stop doodling on the margins of my books, and I'll stop secretly sticking gum underneath my chair, and..._

Clatter, thunk.

Luso looked up from his notebook, which had nearly a page filled now. Mr. Blair had walked back into the classroom. He looked strangely happy, and relieved.

"Luso!" He said jubilantly, "Good news! You don't have to write that two page reflection anymore. I have a new job for you."

"Huh?" Luso almost dropped his pencil in surprise. What's the deal?

"Mr. Randell needs someone to clean up the library for him. If you can tidy up all the books and papers, I'll let you go without writing a thing."

"Really?" Luso stood up instantly. Although he had never been inside the library before, it didn't sound like a place that would be incredibly messy. If he finished it fast, then he could go home fast.

"Just pack up and head on over to the library. Mr. Randell should be in there."

"Alright, do you want the notebook?"

"It's fine, keep it."

Luso nodded and quickly tossed all his belongings into his bag haphazardly. In less than a minute, he was out of the classroom and into the hallways. Mr. Blair breathed a sigh of relief. He can finally go home now. Even teachers want their summer vacations as well.

* * *

Tap tap tap tap tap tap.

The sound of Luso's feet tapping on the floor as he ran in the hallways. An usual offense that would get him a scolding from the hall monitor or a teacher. Not that there are any right now.

Halting in front of a wooden door, Luso glanced at the metal plate hanging above it.

"This is it!" He said happily, "The library!"

He grabbed the doorknob and opened the door energetically. But as soon as he placed one foot inside the room, his happy smile had suddenly slid off his face like wet paint.

"N-no way!" The library was a mess. No, to call it a mess was an understatement. Paper was strewn all over the floor, bookshelves were missing their contents, and books were piled all over the place in small towers. It resembled a miniature cavern, a dungeon of books.

Luso leapt over a stack of books that was threatening to fall over. The desk where the librarian usually sits is vacant. Instead, a small note was left on the desk, held down by a small teddy bear that was probably left behind by some childish student.

He put the teddy beat aside and picked up the note. It was a letter from the librarian to Luso, written in slightly messy writing.

_Dear Luso, _

_Mr. Blair told me that you'll be helping me clean up my messy library for me. Thanks in advance. Feel free to take home any books you think are interesting, I don't mind. Just remember to return them when school starts again after the summer. Be careful of the stacks, they might topple over and crush you. Some of the bookshelves are also broken, so be careful of those too, okay?_

_Thanks in advance_

_Mr. Randell_

"This feels more like a warning than a thanks..." Luso mumbled. He crumpled up the letter and tossed it into the garbage bin.

Feeling as if he was ripped off, Luso sighed and leaned against one of the tall piles of books. Almost instantly, it began to wobble and toppled over. With Luso along with it.

"Agh!" He cried out as he flipped over the pile, landing roughly in the middle of a valley of literature. A few books fell over and thumped Luso over the head. Stars filled his vision as he grabbed the attacker and tossed it away. The book flew over the pile and landed on a wooden table, knocking a small box onto the ground. It flipped open and began to play a simple melody.

Luso crawled over to the box and picked it up. It was a small music box, the type that most people would buy for young children to help them sleep.

"This sounds kinda familiar..." Luso said. He rubbed the lump on his head and placed it back on the table. The box stopped playing as soon as it touched the surface. "Did it break? Oh well..."

Spotting a chair, Luso grabbed it and sat down. He drooped his head onto the table. It was almost nighttime, and he was still stuck in this library.

_This is a great start for a summer, isn't it?_ Luso thought sarcastically. He banged his head against the wooden surface in frustration.

_Fwoosh._

"Huh?" Luso lifted his head at the unknown sound. The book he threw had flipped on by itself. He glanced at the window behind him, it was all shut tightly.

"Wow! This book looks older than Mr. Blair!" He had picked up the book and laid it out in front of him. The pages were frayed and yellowing, some of the text was beginning to fade away. Luso flipped a few pages, several of the pages had illustrations of heroic looking humans that held beautiful swords, ancient old men that appeared to hold flames or lightning in their hands, monstrous creatures that had large horns that could probably tear the entire school down in one charge.

Entranced, Luso forgot about his depression momentarily as he eagerly flipped through the book. However...

"What's up with this page?" He hadn't even reached the middle of the entire book yet, but the pages had become entirely blank. Not even a hint of ink was left on any of the pages. Feeling desperate, Luso turned the book over and examined the very last page.

There was only one line written on the very back. In spiky black lettering, it read,

_"Only one is fated to author these barren pages. Know you the name of the one?"_

"Wow, what's with the strange backwards words?" Luso said, "I wonder who was the weirdo who wrote this?"

Luso stretched himself out and went back to examine the sentence. A mischievous thought crossed his mind. He reached inside his bag and took out his notebook and pen.

"I never pass up a chance to write in a library book before, why start now?" Luso said gleefully, he clicked his pen and bent over the pages. "I'll tell you his name!"

"His name is...Luso Clemens!" He punctuated his last line with an overly large period. Blot. "Ah...that felt fun."

"I guess I'm the author of this book now!" He laughed to himself. He began to put his pen and notebook away when...

_Fwoosh._

"Hm?" The pages on the book had flipped over on it's own again.

_Fwoosh, fwoosh, Fwoosh, fwoosh, Fwoosh, fwoosh, Fwoosh, fwoosh, Fwoosh, fwoosh!_

As if a tornado had blown in, the pages on the book began to turn itself rapidly. Suddenly, a cold breeze had blown into the entire library. Luso dropped his notebook and stood up. The breeze had escalated into a full scale gale and began to lift up many of the fallen books around him. As if the table was the eye of the hurricane, books, paper and other paraphernalia were flying around him in a dizzying scene.

"What's going on?!" Luso cried, he could feel the wind buffeting him around as if he was a scarecrow. He grabbed onto the table in a desperate attempt to ride out the wind, but it was no use. He could feel his feet being pulled up by the powerful draft. One of his shoes had loosened and flew off his foot and joined the books in the tornado.

By now, only his hands were still on the ground. Desperately clutching onto the table leg, which was thankfully nailed down to the ground. His entire body was already floating into the air.

"I...can't...hold on!" He gritted his teeth, "Mr. Blair! Mr. Randell! Anyone! HELP!"

The pages stopped flipping.

Time stopped, just for an instant.

Summer had begun, summer had ended.


	2. Of Feathers and Swords

**The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2**

* * *

**Chapter 1: **"Of Feathers and Swords"

Blue, blue sky. A grassy glade, surrounded by tall green trees. A tranquil stream snakes it's way through the clearing. A rustle of leaves, and out comes a small, squat bird from the foliage. The fat bird hops through the clearing and halts next to the stream. It dips it's beak into the clear water and takes a long sip. Sluurp.

It's thirst satiated, the stumpy bird turned around and began to return to wherever it came from. A small noise from the thicket of trees spooked it and made it quickly turn around to spot the offender. A large, scaly hand reached out from the dense mass of trees and took hold of a tree trunk with a firm grip. A similarly scaly head followed the hand through the brambles.

"Cid, are you sure this is the area where it was last sighted?" The scaly creature took one step out of the forest and into the glade. His body was every bit like a lizard's, but with several dramatic differences. His body was scaly, tough, and most evidently, extremely muscular. He was clad in simplistic armor, barely enough to protect his arms and torso. In his hand, he carried a large silvery sword, which he used to cleave the underbrush away.

"When have I ever been wrong?" A rough, low voice replied him. From behind the lizard-like creature, came a human-looking man. Although he was slightly smaller than the lizardman, his muscles were just as large and powerful as his. Despite looking every bit a human, there is one single striking aspect of him that sets him apart. His skin was bright, vibrant red.

He moved past the lizardman and headed towards the river. He bent down and examined the riverbank. "See? Tracks of a baby cockatrice. We're on the right track Lynd."

"You're right," The lizardman–Lynd–nodded. He lifted his nose into the air and sniffed. "The tracks are fresh. It must've passed by this way less than five minutes ago."

"Sharp as always." The red man praised him, "Alright, go get Edyal and we'll take a rest here. It can't have gotten far in five minutes."

Lynd turned around and returned into the trees. The other man sat down next to the river and took out a round canteen. He unscrewed the lid and filled it up with fresh river water, and immediately downed half of the canteen in one motion. As soon as he dipped the canteen back to refill it, Lynd reappeared at the fringe of the clearing. He was accompanied by a strange-looking creature wearing black robes and a straw-colored hat. Two large, floppy ears hung out on either side of creature's hat, giving it a dog-like appearance.

"Edyal." The man greeted his companion jovially.

"Cid, how goes the search?" Edyal replied, "Lynd tells me that you've discovered tracks in this clearing."

"Indeed, take a look." Cid gestured towards the small claw-like markings on the bank. "Cockatrices don't move fast, nor far. We should be able to catch up to it."

Edyal nodded and sat down on a flat rock. Lynd took a seat opposite her, propping up his face with his hand. His expression was one of discontent.

"All this work for nothing but measly coin." He complained, "What I wouldn't give to have something more worthwhile."

Cid stopped examining the tracks and replied, "We should count ourselves lucky. 250 Gil isn't too bad of a reward for a job like this."

"Aye, I suppose you're right." He said grudgingly, "But if we were in Camoa, we would be able to get much higher paying jobs."

"I wouldn't think many patrons would place their trust in a clan that only has three bodies in it." Edyal commented.

"Oh, hush woman," Lynd growled, "We're more experienced than half of the clans running around Jylland."

"If that is true, then we ought to think of an actual clan name, no?" She calmly replied back. A smirk was creeping onto her face. "Why don't you try?"

"Erggh..." Lynd struggled to think of a name. Words and thought weren't his strong point. If he had a choice, he'd pick the sword over the quill any day.

"Clan...uh...Gully?" He said after a few minutes of thinking. "Yeah, Clan Gully. Sounds good, huh?" He concluded triumphantly.

"Gully?" Edyal said, "A small trickling stream that runs through muddy gulches? My, my, that is a strange way for you to describe us."

"You..!"

"Enough." Cid cut between their argument with a stern voice. With powerful strides, he planted himself between his two warring clan members and shook his head. "Let's not fight when we're so close to the finish line. If you have a problem with the clan name or anything else about the clan, then talk to me after we capture our mark."

The two of them glared at each other one more time, then looked away. Cid let out a large sigh and grasped the hilt of his sword. Ever since he had recruited these two, they have been jumping at each other's throats any chance they get.

_What a hassle._ Cid thought, _Nu Mous and Bangaas simply just can't get along, can they?_

Cid crossed over to the other side of the glade and brushed aside several bushes. He motioned for the other two to follow with his hand and walked straight into the thicket. The two silently bickering teammates quickly followed.

Passing through a thick, leafy path. The group eventually emerged in yet another clearing. However, this clearing didn't have the same peaceful air as the previous one. Notably, the grassy ground was imprinted with tens of hundreds of massive bird claw-shaped marks. Large fragments of eggshells were littered all around the glade, as well as a ridiculous amount of feathers and down. In the center of the entire clearing was an enormous nest. A large feathery mound was protruding from inside it.

"Halt." Commanded Cid, "Don't make any sudden noises."

Lynd and Edyal stood stiffly behind the large red man. Cid took out a small dagger from his belt and held it cautiously in his hand. With a deft motion, he flicked the dagger straight into the center of the nest.

In that instant.

As if the dagger had exploded with the intensity of a sunflare, the entire clearing was filled with brilliant white light. A loud cry – not unlike one of a chicken – pierced the air. Cid covered his eyes with his arm and ducked back into the underbrush.

"Cid! What did you do?" Edyal cried over the din.

"Nothing!" He yelled, "All I did was flick my hunting knife!"

"Doesn't look like just a hunting knife to me!" Lynd grunted as he tried to shield his eyes from the light.

A series of loud stampings and unpleasant sounds of liquid splattering joined the unholy screech. Rocks and various foliage were flying all over the air due to the creature's frenzied panic.

"That Crushatrice is going ballistic!" Lynd yelled, "At this rate, it'll probably start stampeding all over the forest! We've got to incapacitate it somehow!"

"Great plan!" Edyal replied sarcastically, "How about you give us some ideas then?!"

"Not NOW!"

With no intent of being in the center of another argument between the two, Cid quickly unsheathed his sword and prepared to strike. Even if he was blinded, he could still rush and strike a solid blow on the massive monster...probably.

_Well, there's no time to nurse my insecurities..._ Cid thought to himself, _All right, let's go._

Without any prior warning, Cid leapt out of the bushes and into the bright light.

"Cid, what in the world are you thinking?!" Despite covering his eyes, Lynd's ears were sharp enough to tell him what Cid has done.

His words didn't reach Cid, all he could think about was the distance between him and the mark. Readying his blade, Cid began to run forward.

His large, powerful feet pounded the ground as he rushed recklessly through the field of feathers and shells. The shrill cry of the Crushatrice filled his hearing, but all it did was boil his blood even more. He could feel his adrenaline pumping, and with that, he urged himself to run faster. Before the cover of the bright light ended.

Cid might not know why his hunting knife exploded into a bright flashbang, but it was an advantage. An advantage could easily turn the tide of a battle. And Cid knew this well.

There, he could see it. A large moving shadow, framed by the light. It was moving erratically, thrashing and crashing in it's own nest. Sounds of eggs shattering and splattering around were mixing into the screech it was emitting. Inwardly, Cid felt a little pity for the unborn chicks, but as of now. It meant nothing to him.

The massive orange and white beast, resembling that of an incredibly overgrown chicken was looming right in Cid's face. He brought up his sword, ready to leave a crimson red mark in his wake.

Right when Cid was going to bring down his blade, the light vanished. Disappeared as fast as it appeared. Feeling vulnerable, Cid halted suddenly and leapt backwards.

"Cid!" Edyal and Lynd were clambering out of the bushes. Both of them still had their eyes closed, no doubt that they were still affected by the flash.

Cid returned his sword back into a neutral position, he had lost his chance to deal a surprise attack. And to prove his point, the Crushatrice had stopped it's confused thrashing.

_What a remarkable recovery this beast has. _Thought Cid, _Too bad this will just make it all the more difficult for us now._

"Cid! Above you!"

Sensing danger, Cid quickly glanced above him. A bright golden beak was heading straight down. Ready to drill straight into the man's red head.

"GRRAAH!" With superhuman reflexes, Cid parried the strike with the flat of his blade. Knocking the beak aside and nearly causing the beast to topple over. With the small opening he just created, he quickly recomposed himself and ran back to his teammates.

"Cid, are you all right?" Edyal had procured a bottle of clear liquid from her bag, and was offering it to him. Cid refused it and pushed her hand away.

"I'm uninjured, save the potion for another time."

Lynd unsheathed his own sword and stood next to Cid. He made a small noise of impatience and grasped his sword with two hands.

"I've been waiting for that light to go away." He said, "Let's slay this beast already!"

"We've lost the benefit of that light," Cid responded. "That Crushatrice knows we're here, and he's angry."

"Why's that?"

Cid lifted up a red finger to point at the nest. It was now strewn with eggshells and the contents inside.

"Damn." Lynd cursed, "I was hoping to get my hands on some of those."

"You'll have to settle for the old feed at the bar, or perhaps you are thinking of eating some roast Crushatrice?"

"It's..."

Suddenly, Lynd took off like a rocket. Rushing straight towards the massive bird. Blade outstretched.

"...not a bad idea!"

The Crushatrice noticed the running lizard and immediately attempted to intercept his path with a vicious kick. Lynd nimbly dodged it with an agility that belies his appearance. He countered the strike with a slash from his sword, leaving a red line on the beast's yellow leg.

"Not bad!" Cid praised. Not one to leave the situation to someone else, Cid tore off towards the injured bird as well.

Not one to wield a sword, Edyal stayed where she was. Instead, she took out a long wooden staff. Placing it in front of her, she began to recite an incantation.

"The roaring beast that devours nature..."

Lynd aimed another slash at the Crushatrice's leg, but the bird had moved at the last second. Causing his sword to swipe air. The Crushatrice retaliated with a swift strike with it's wings. A clawed fist slammed into Lynd's side and caused him to fly a few meters away. Knocking into Cid along the way.

"Gah!"

"Kooh!"

The two warriors tumbled over and rolled back to where they began. Undeterred, Edyal's incantation continued, her staff had begun to levitate in front of her, glowing a bright crimson red.

"...Gather into crimson flame..."

Pushing each other away, the two warriors stood up and began to mount a second charge. Facing each other, both of them nodded and retrieved their weapons.

"...Raze all my enemies into ashes!"

The pair ran towards the bird with wild abandon, blades drawn and ready to swing down at a moment's notice. Right when they reached the Crushatrice however...

"Squaaaaaaawk!"

"Impossible!"

The massive bird had taken flight, an amazing feat given it's massive girth. Both swords missed their targets, and both of the sword-bearers fell over onto the ground. A large shadow was cast upon them both, giving them an ominous feeling.

"Run." Cid said emotionlessly.

Lynd and Cid quickly scrambled up and got to their feet as fast as they could. A loud squawk overhead alerted them that danger was about to befall the two of them if they couldn't get out fast enough.

"...FIRE!"

Edyal had completed her chant. She grabbed her floating staff and pointed the end at the sky. Instantly, the red glow that was covering the wood congregated at the curved end of the staff, and began to radiate intense heat. Edyal spun the staff once and pointed the end at the flying bird. A sudden flash, a sudden burst, and a bright red ball of flames fired out of the end like a cannon.

The fireball impacted the bird as it began to fall onto the two hapless warriors, blowing it off course. The Crushatrice, it's grand white chest now charred charcoal black, landed heavily into the forest, causing what best could be defined as a miniature earthquake.

"Edya-a-a-a-a-al!" Cid felt himself shudder involuntarily from the shockwave, "Nice sa-a-ave!"

"Don't bother thanking me now," Edyal reprimanded, slamming her staff into the ground. "Take it out before it can get it's bearings back!"

"You don't have to tell me that–!" Yelled Lynd as he ran towards the fallen beast. Cid quickly followed behind.

Lynd quickly reached the site of the crash landing. There was the Crushatrice, sitting in it's own little self–created crater. It looked dazed, but relatively uninjured. It's massive body weight had cushioned it's landing.

"Haaargh!" Lynd leapt up about a few meters up into the air and brought down his sword onto the fallen bird's head.

Clang.

"Huh?!" The end result was completely different from what he had expected. The fallen Crushatrice had utilized Hamedo against him, the act of stopping a blade before it strikes. Using it's beak in lieu of hands, Lynd found himself dangling helpless above the bird as it held him up using his own sword. "This–this bird is ridiculous!"

"Lynd!" Cid looked up and saw the spectacle. In any other situation, this would've been a hilarious sight to see, but as of now. It can only be considered horrifying.

The Crushatrice flicked it's beak upwards. The sword–and Lynd–went flying above it, hovering right above the bird's open maw. He was about to become bird feed, and it wasn't going to be pretty.

"Dammit, Lynd! Hang on!" Jumping onto the bird's gut, Cid took out his sword and raised it up to pierce the large bird's gut. Lynd was only inches away from the Crushatrice's beak.

"AAAAAAA–"

Suddenly.

Time froze.

An undulation in space, a bending of laws, and a warping of the air itself.

In the space above the beak, above the prey, above the trees. Something was being deposited.

And just as sudden as it began.

Time began.

"AAAAAAAH!"

"AAAAAAAH!"

"What?!"

In the space of a few seconds, three things had occurred. One, Cid had stopped his plunge, two, the Crushatrice's beak had closed, and three...

"Gah!" Lynd crashed onto the hard soil hard. He bounced off the ground and landed on his back. Right beside him, something else had also landed on the ground.

Cid stared at the two fallen bodies on the ground in amazement. For a second, he had forgotten all about where he was standing. The Crushatrice wasn't too pleased.

"SQUAAAAAAAAAAWK!" It began to thrash about wildly, one of it's wings came dangerously near Cid's head. Judging it to be more prudent to stay off the dangeroud beast, Cid leapt off the landed next to the stranger.

_A Hume?_ Thought Cid as he examined the body, _A young one, at that. Did he come from the village?_

"G–kack!" Lynd coughed. With difficulty, he picked himself up and leaned on one knee.

"Are you alright, Lynd?" Asked Cid worriedly.

"I'll live..." He craned his neck to look over at the young Hume next to him. "Who is this?"

"No clue, but he saved your life...somehow." Responded Cid, "You'll have to stand down on this fight Lynd. You've lost your weapon and you're heavily injured."

"Ugh...don't think too bad of me then..." He gasped out with the last of his energy. Then collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

"You just take a rest there." Cid swung out his sword to his side, "I'll take care of this."

With the time that it was given, the Crushatrice had completely recovered. It stood up on it's two legs and glared at the man with killing intent in it's eyes. Lifting it's beak, it spat out Lynd's sword. Cid extended his free hand and grabbed it by the hilt. He stuck it into the ground and immediately rushed forward to engage the gigantic bird.

"Ugh..."

The young boy had awoke. He took his hand and tousled his messy brown hair. As he turned his head to get a better grip of his surroundings, he saw Lynd's unconscious face.

…

…

"AAAAAAAAAGH! IT'S A GIANT LIZARD!"

* * *

**A/N:** Well, the second chapter. What can I say? It's nearly twice as long as the first one. It's almost frightening, really. Some small notes I should make here: Lynd and Cid are both Warrior classes, the default, naturally. Edyal is a black mage, and female. And if you're wondering about that hunting knife, don't worry. All will be explained in due time.


	3. Re Entry

**The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2**

* * *

**Chapter 2: **"Re-Entry"

Luso, who had suddenly appeared in the skies above the forest, scrambled away at gigantic lizard's unconscious body. Unknowingly, he found himself at the feet of the gigantic bird.

"Mr. R-Randell?" He gasped fearfully, "W-whats going on?!"

Almost as if the Crushatrice was responding to his question, it let out a loud squawk. Shocked, the boy nearly did a somersault as he tried to clumsily scramble away. He fell backwards on his back, staring at the gigantic chicken.

"N–NOT MR. RANDELL!"

The Crushatrice's beak swooped down and planned to pick him up like if he was a particularly delectable worm. Luso held up his hands and curled up in a fetal position, fearing the worst.

Instead of the sound he expected, he had heard something different. He opened one eye, and in his vision he saw a large man wielding a sharp sword. The man had knocked aside the giant bird's beak with one strike, he could see the bird trying to keep it's balance on one leg. Even in Luso's confused mind, he could tell that the man who just saved him was inordinately strong.

"Boy, are you alright?" He asked in a gentle voice. Almost unbefitting of his action before.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Luso stammered to reply, "But who _are_ you? You're not even human!"

Upon further inspection, Luso had noticed that his savior had an unnatural red tint to his skin, incredibly sharp ears, and most strangely, two small horns protruding out of his forehead.

"Hyuuu–man?" The man said in a confused voice, "You mean a Hume? You are incorrect, I am a Revgaji."

Luso could only give a confused expression in response. Too many things are happening suddenly, and too many things are rushing through his mind. At the moment, he felt like he could probably faint from all incredible happenings around him.

"Boy, I do not know where you come from, or what your story is." The Revgaji faced the now – recovering bird behind Luso, "But I do want to know one thing. Can you fight?"

"F-fight?! You mean like swinging around a sword or something?!"

"If you cannot fight, you'll just be a hindrance." He said bluntly, "If you can fight, then pick up Lynd's sword and defend yourself."

Luso looked over at the fallen lizard creature. A silvery sword was sticking out of the ground next to him.

"Make your choice, and fast. That beast wont stay dazed for long."

_This is unbelievable..._ Luso thought, _I was just reading a book about this in the library, and __now I'm a part of it?_

"Hurry boy..."

_Aaaargh! I can't understand a thing! Why am I here? What happened to the library? Who's this guy?! Why is there a gigantic chicken trying to attack us?!_

The Crushatrice straightened it's head once again, and let out a loud squawk of anger.

_You know what?! I JUST DON'T CARE ANYMORE!_

"AAAAAAAAAARGH!" Luso let loose a loud yell of frustration. He took his hands and messed up his hair wildly. Jumping up onto his feet, he took one step backward and grasped the hilt of the sword. He then yanked it out with a strength even he didn't know he had.

Cid looked back in surprise, the eyes of the boy was no longer filled with fear. Instead, a different emotion was beginning to fill up in his blue eyes. He could recognize that feeling, it was an emotion that he was most familiar with. It was the emotion of courage.

"I see you've made your decision, boy!" Cid couldn't help but admire his enthusiasm.

"My name isn't 'boy!'" Irritated by how he kept calling him, Luso retorted, "It's Luso! Luso Clemens!"

"Ah, my mistake then. I am Cid, good to meet you Luso!"

Cid took grip of his sword and raced off towards the Crushatrice as soon as he finished saying Luso's name. He dodged a pecking attack and slid underneath the bird. He slid all the way behind the gigantic Crushatrice, and in that position he took his sword and struck the bird on the rump with the flat of his blade. Causing it to jolt and freeze momentarily.

"Luso, now!" He called back, "Give it a good strike!"

Luso felt a sudden rush of adrenaline. Mimicking Cid's rush, he ran towards the bird with the sword, which felt oddly light in his hands. Feeling braver by the minute, he gripped the sword tightly and stared straight ahead. The only target in his sight was the Crushatrice.

_This is unbelievable!_

He halted in front of the Crushatrice. Strength flowing into his arms, he raised the sword with two hands and brought it down diagonally. A thin red gash formed on the bird's charred black chest.

"I-I did it! Cid, I did i––!"

His cheer was cut short by a sudden blow to his stomach. A large taloned foot had slammed into him as he was celebrating. Luso was launched backwards and landed on his back. The flesh on it's chest was too thick, Luso's attack only did as much damage as punching it with a fist.

"Luso!" Cid could see him get attacked, "Dammit, don't be too injured now!"

He reached up and took hold of the Crushatrice's back feathers. Carrying his sword within his mouth, he began to climb the large beast. The Crushatrice felt the disturbance on it's body and began to shake vigorously, trying to get the invader off.

"Nice try, but you wont be able to get me off that easily!"

Reaching the top of the Crushatrice, Cid spat out his sword onto his hand.

"HA!"

One plunge! He drove his blade straight into the flesh of the Crushatrice. Almost instantly, the bird began to squawk and thrash wildly from the pain. Retrieving his now red blade, Cid leapt off the bird and landed next to Luso. Behind him, he could hear the Crushatrice fall with a loud thump, signifying it's defeat. He felt the sense of danger inside him evaporate and sheathed his blade. He crouched down to ascertain the damage from the blow Luso took.

_Not too bad, just a simple bruise. He's more tough than I would've imagined. _Cid glanced at Luso's hand, which was almost white as snow from holding onto Lynd's sword. _Amazing. He's still clutching that sword, even when he's unconscious._

"Bo–...Luso, still alive?" He prodded the boy with his finger. Suddenly, Luso instantly sat up, almost knocking Cid backwards.

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" Luso answered suddenly, "I'm not sleeping Mr. Blair! I'm still awake! A-gha!" He clutched his bruised belly. Cid shook his head in exasperation.

"You're a strange one, Luso." He said, with a hint of laughter in his voice. "Mind you telling me about this Mr. Blair once we're done?"

Feeling rather stupid, Luso picked himself up as fast as he could. He gritted his teeth as he felt the pain from his bruise, but he put on a brave face to mask it.

"It's nothing, I'm fine! See?"

Cid chuckled to himself. _He's a tough one, indeed._

"Cid!" A new voice joined their midst, "Cid, are you alright?"

Looking back, Edyal was running towards them. She was out of breath and panting, she was using her staff as a crutch. Nu Mous weren't very well known for their physical strength.

Edyal didn't even take a single glance at Lynd and moved past him as if he was simply an uninteresting rock. She stopped in front of the two still–standing members of her team and began to pant heavily.

"Gha...you two...are too fast..." She gasped out, "There's no way...I can catch up...gha...gha..."

Cid put one of his hands behind his head and scratched sheepishly, "My apologies, Edyal."

"No...matter..." Edyal took one great breath of air and composed herself. She raised her head and took one cursory glance at the gigantic bird behind the two. "I see you've completed the task?"

"Naturally."

"I see." Her roaming eyes landed on the boy standing next to him, "I see you've made a friend. Who's this?"

"Oh, him?" Cid placed his large hand on the boy's rumpled brown hair. "This is..."

"Luso." Luso finished his sentence for him, "Luso Clemens. Nice to meet you."

"My, you're definitely from a different stock than that rude Lynd." Edyal commented, "My name is Edyal, and as you can probably determine from my dress, I am a Black Mage."

"Black...mage?" An expression of confusion appeared on Luso's face again, "What is that?"

"Come to speak of it, you were also calling Lynd a giant lizard before." Cid recounted, "I was thinking of asking you the reason behind that. It is...a very grave mistake to make anywhere, to call a Bangaa a lizard."

"You called Lynd a giant lizard?" Edyal clapped her hands together, "I must say! You must be either very brave, or very foolish."

Luso was quiet. His adrenaline from being caught up in the moment had evaporated, and his thoughts on where he was now came back in full force.

"Where am I?" He blurted out his thoughts suddenly.

"Where are you?" Repeated Cid, "You're in Ivalice, or to be precise, the continent of Jylland."

"Ivalice? Jylland?" Said Luso in a hollow voice. "I've never heard of any of these places before!"

Luso took his hand and ruffled his hair again. Cid shrugged and faced Edyal.

"It's probably a long story. You two head back to the village first."

"You will take care of the mark?" Cid nodded. Edyal motioned for Luso to follow her. "Come then, I'll lead you out of the forest."

"O–oh, thanks." Luso began to follow, but stopped. He had caught sight of the fallen Bangaa on the ground. "What about the liz...um...the Bangaa?"

"Oh, just leave him there to rot. Mayhaps he might rejuvenate some of the torn grass in the soil." She said coldly and walked off. Luso shivered involuntarily.

_Maybe they had some sort of bad experience before?_ Luso thought, _I sure am taking this pretty __calmly...aren't I? I mean, I did just get kicked by a gigantic bird and now I'm talking to a large dog-like thing... I probably shouldn't say that in front of her face though..._

Luso felt the hilt of the sword he was carrying in his hand. A few minutes earlier, we was holding a pen and writing in a notebook. Now, he's holding a sword and was just fighting a beast.

_This is unbelievable. _He thought for the third time, _It's like I'm in some sort of great video game or a fantasy novel._

"Luso, are you going to follow me, or are you going to stay there and eat the grass?"

"N–no! Sorry! I'm coming right now!"

* * *

"So...allow me to get this straight."

Edyal took a long draught from her mug. Setting it down with a loud clunk, she focused her attention back on the boy that was sitting across him.

"You found a book in a library, and it asked for your name?"

Luso held up a portion of his meal. A dark chunk of meat, or what he presumes is meat. Hesitating for a second, he took a bite and began to chew. The taste must've agreed with him, because he began to cut up more on his plate. Edyal coughed impatiently.

"Oh! Um..." Luso put down his knife and fork. "Yeah, you're right. It asked me something like 'Do you know the name of whoever wrote this book' or something. I don't really remember what it said."

"And...without thinking. You just wrote your name?" Said Edyal, "That is quite a reckless act. For all we know, that book of yours could've been a contract with a demonic creature or something worse."

Feeling sheepish, Luso hid his embarrassment by taking his mug and drinking deep. It was a sweet tasting liquid, he had half a mind to ask the barman what it was.

"Now, now." Cid cut in on the conversation, "What is the point of dredging up what could've or could've not happened? He's safe, and that's all that should matter."

"Hrgh..." Edyal grudgingly fell silent.

Cid turned his head back to look at Luso, who was busy struggling with a particularly tough piece of meat. Although his attire was drastically different from the norm, he could've passed for a normal Hume boy.

_Hm?_ Something had caught Cid's eye. There was something thick bulging out of the boy's clothing.

"Luso." Cid said, intent on finding out what it is.

"Mmmrrgghh?" Luso replied with a mouthful of meat. Cid scratched his head, feeling exasperated once again. Luso swallowed his food and washed it down with another gulp of the sweet water. "What is it Cid?"

"Your clothing, is there something inside it?" He said.

"My uniform?" Luso glanced down at his sweater top. It was a school issue uniform, since the school was located in a city that has a very cold climate. Although it was torn from the talons of the Crushatrice, the large pocket that is used to house one's hands if they ever became cold was still intact.

He reached inside, and felt around.

"Yeeeouch!" He yelled. Luckily, the tavern was noisy with many other patrons, so he did not attract attention to himself. Pulling out his hand, he found that his finger was bleeding. "What the heck?"

He reached in once inside, this time determined to find out what was inside. He felt something smooth, and he grabbed it.

"Hey, what's this?" He pulled out a small, metal hunting knife. It was dripping a little blood. "This isn't mine."

"Hm?" Cid reached over and took the blade from Luso's hands. "This is the hunting knife I threw." The scene of the entire glade exploding in bright light was still vivid in Cid's memory.

"Luso, didn't you say that you were transported here by a powerful wind and a bright light?"

"Well, to be honest. I don't really remember much of what happened." Luso rubbed his head, thinking. "It all happened so fast, everything was a blur."

Cid wiped the blood off his knife with a napkin and replaced it on his belt. He contemplated the sequence of events.

"Do you think this is connected?" Cid asked Edyal, "My knife suddenly creating that sunburst and Luso's book?"

"Anything's possible." Edyal replied, "Though, I do want to see this book of yours."

"Um..." Luso rummaged inside his pockets inside again. His fingers brushed against a hard surface. He took it out, it was his notebook.

"Is that the book?"

"Um..no, it's not." Luso flipped it open. There was his 'reflections' that he was writing for Mr. Blair before, and the torn edges from the page he ripped out.

A pretty waitress walked over to their table. Cid took out a small pouch and handed her a few coins. She bowed and returned to serve the other patrons. Cid rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he replaced his pouch.

"Luso, do you have any plans for the future?" He asked suddenly. Luso looked up in the middle of putting his notebook back.

"Plans?" Luso mirrored back, "What do you mean?"

"Our clan–That is, me, Edyal, and Lynd–are planning on leaving this village as soon as possible to find better paying jobs." Cid said with a serious expression on his face, "At most, we might be leaving tomorrow."

Luso was quiet. He didn't know what Cid meant, and resolved to sit and listen.

"It will be a dangerous road, and I won't guarantee safety." He continued, "We might even meet monsters that are more vicious than the Crushatrice we defeated earlier."

"Then...?"

"I am giving you a choice, will prefer to stay here in the safety Wood Village or will you be willing to join our clan and travel along with us?"

Cid was offering him a choice between living in a place of safety, or going along with them in a road of danger? Luso looked down at his hand, he could still feel the energy, the rush of battle. The feeling of swinging a sword.

"Rest assured, even if you wish to stay here, I will attempt to uncover any information on your mysterious book. Mayhaps even a way to return you back to wherever you have been transported from."

"You don't have to say anything anymore Cid." Luso said, his voice full of confidence. "I already know what I want to do."

"Oh?"

"It's obvious isn't it? I want to join your clan!"

Cid smiled. Although he wouldn't say it, he was hoping the boy would say yes. He stood up and walked over to Luso's seat. The Revgaji put his large hand on the boy's perpetually messy head.

"No sense of danger, no sense of fear. You're a brave one, Luso!" He announced, "Alright then! Welcome to our clan!"

Cid threw his head back and laughed jovially. Luso, feeling that he was finally accepted, started to laugh along with him.

* * *

At the same time, Lynd finally awoke....

...In the middle of the woods.

"Ugh...where am I?" He pulled himself up from his uncomfortable position on the ground. "It's nighttime?"

Lynd scanned his surroundings. It was the scene of battle where he was fighting in earlier. His sword's gone, as well as his clanmates.

_What happened? _He thought to himself, _I must've been unconscious for a long time._

He looked over at the large mound in the distance. The Crushatrice had appeared to have fought a very exhausting battle, as it was sleeping soundly. It's talons had been removed, presumably by Cid.

_He must've finished the job while I was sleeping._ A feeling of irritation washed over Lynd, _So why was I left here in the middle of the woods?_ He envisioned Edyal's sneering face as he thought about it. His face began to darken as his hands began to ball into fists. He raised his head to the night sky and yelled:

"EDYAAAAAAAAAAAL!"

* * *

**A/N:** Following along with the game's plot. Following along~ I do promise that there will be several divergences though, a few large, a few small. Oh right, some clarifications. Cid's clan isn't called Gully, that's just Lynd.


	4. Ocktor's Request

**The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2**

* * *

**Chapter 3: **"Ocktor's Request"

"Come now Luso, is that all you got?"

Cid swung his sword horizontally. Luso took his own sword and parried the blow. He ducked underneath Cid's arm. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the underside of Cid's face was wide open.

"How about this?!" He yelled as he balled up his other hand. He rose powerfully, ready to uppercut the Revgaji on the chin.

"Clever, but too naïve!" Cid leaned his head backwards, making Luso's fist whiff the air. With a deft motion, Cid grabbed the boy's outstretched hand and spun him around like a windmill. With a loud thump, Luso landed face first in the dirt. Dusting his hands off, Cid crouched down next to him.

"Your mistake was placing too much faith in that one attack." He reprimanded sternly, but his expression was kind. He extended a hand to help Luso up, "Do not believe that just one attack–strong or not–will be able to down an opponent. Always think a few moves ahead. In the case that your first attack does not succeed, you will be still able to respond with another strategy."

Luso nodded as he took Cid's helping hand. It was Luso's idea to have Cid train him. He had felt an acute sense of uselessness during the battle against the Crushatrice yesterday, doing nothing more than nicking the bird's chest and getting a painful retribution in response. He had begged Cid to train him first thing in the morning, before the sun had even broke the top of the forest. Although Cid was initially hesitant, he began to take the training seriously after witnessing Luso's determination.

"However, you did well to avoid my attack." Cid praised lightly, "You do seem to be gifted with a decent set of reflexes. Have you ever trained in swordsplay before?"

"Well, I always get chosen first when it comes to dodge ball in PE, does that count?" Luso grinned, reminiscing to all the times he had surprised the opposing team by catching everything they had thrown at him. Demon Hands Luso, they had called him. All Cid could give was a quizzical expression in reply. Luso quickly shrugged and brushed it aside.

"Can we continue?" Luso asked, he still had an abundance of energy left inside him. "I want to at least be able to hit you once!"

"Aye, let's continue then." The Revgaji walked a few paces away from Luso and reassumed his battle stance. Gripping the hilt with his right hand, he focused his attention on to the boy.

"On three Luso..." Cid murmured, "One..."

"Two..."

"Three!"

Luso kicked the ground powerfully, launching dirt behind him. He ran towards Cid, who was still standing stationary in front of him, waiting for his attack. When he was halfway to Cid, he suddenly changed his direction. He leaped to the side and darted towards Cid's left, the side where he did not hold his sword. Before Cid could turn around, Luso was already next to him, sword at the ready.

Cid gave a low whistle, he didn't expect Luso to reach him that fast, much less change directions in the middle of his charge.

_Amazing, _he thought, _Luso's improving faster than I expected. His speed and stability are surprisingly powerful._

Luso swung his sword at Cid's torso, but a quick turn from Cid and his attack was nullified in an instant. Cid's sword appeared almost instantly, blocking Luso's swing and knocking him backwards in the process.

_Of course, he's still young. _Cid charged after the staggering Luso, sword raised, _His strength isn't enough to even push me right now._

Panicking, Luso quickly rolled on the ground and dodged Cid's attack. Cid's sword had slammed into the dry ground and was stuck in the dirt. Luso quickly recomposed himself and prepared to throw a counterattack during this small opening. The Revgaji had saw this coming, however, and forcefully swung his sword towards him–dirt and all.

"Ack!" Luso quickly closed his eyes as the fragments soil and sand assaulted his vision. In that instant, he saw stars. For the second time this morning, he had collapsed onto the ground.

"Never close your eyes in front of your opponent." Cid had butted Luso over the head, hard, with the back of his sword. Luso could feel a large lump rising out of the top of his scalp. "You'll only leave yourself open to any sort of counterattack."

"That...was unfair." Luso spluttered out, coughing dirt and debris out of his mouth. "You tossed dirt at me!"

"In the midst of battle, any sort of advantage you can gain is an advantage." Cid lectured, "If you're busy crying out 'fair' or 'unfair', you might as well be asking your opponent to drop their weapons and have a nice chat. There are people who would cut you down in an instant if you so happen to drop your guard at any moment, or even attack while you're sleeping."

Luso grumbled as he let himself be pulled up again by Cid. Even though Luso didn't know what kind of people Cid was talking about, he could tell that what Cid was telling him was something important, something that he shouldn't forget.

With a sigh, Luso stood up straight and began to dust off his clothing, which was now becoming rather ragged. A tear was prominently displayed in the middle of the uniform he wore, courtesy of the Crushatrice. The original color was becoming blotched out by dirt and grass stains, making it look like a badly made tye-dye"

"Come to think of it," Cid rubbed his chin as he inspected the weary–looking garment, "Perhaps we should pay a visit to the bazaar."

"The bazaar?" Luso thought he had read the word in a book somewhere, not that he really remembers books that well anyway. "What's that?"

"Someplace where we can get you something less degrading to wear."

Luso punched Cid in the back.

* * *

While Luso and Cid were training outside, Edyal was busy with a problem of her own. Specifically, a problem named Lynd.

"You left me out there for the birds!" Lynd yelled, obviously outraged. Edyal simply lifted her cup to her lips and drank, ignoring her clanmate's enraged tirade.

"What did I see when I woke up?" He continued, "My sword gone, the sun down and a half–dead Crushatrice! I had to find the trail back to town in the dark, fending off irritating creatures in the forest with nothing but my fists!"

He slammed his fist against the wooden surface of the table, cracking it slightly. Edyal made no reaction toward his anger, which only served to infuriate him more. He reached over and yanked the cup from out of Edyal's hands.

"If it angers you that much, then why don't you go and have a talk with Cid?" Edyal replied calmly, indifferent to his anger, "He might be more willing to listen to a fool's tirade."

"This does not concern Cid!" He yelled again, "This only concerns your deliberate attempt to abandon me back at the forest!"

"I am appalled at how low you think of me." Edyal replied in a sarcastic tone, "There is no way I would even dream of abandoning such a vital asset to the clan."

"Exactly! I am a vital asset! Which is why Cid recruited me in the first place!" Lynd apparently didn't catch the sarcasm. Edyal rolled her eyes. Ignoring Lynd's self-praise, Edyal took attention to the open door of the pub. Where a new customer had entered through.

"Hello, and welcome. What can I get for you?" Said the turbaned pub bartender, "Muskmallow Ale? I just got a large shipment the other day, definitely will raise your spirits if they are down."

The customer, a Nu Mou wearing a white robe, shook his head and sat down in front of the counter. "Just give me a some straight wine, thanks."

"Not a good day, Dr. Ocktor?" The bartender turned around and began to fiddle with the spigot on one of the massive barrels on the wall.

"Terrible. Simply terrible." The doctor held his head between his two hands, "A patient had came in the other day, inflicted with something I cannot cure without the use of a certain ingredient. Said ingredient is only manufactured in Camoa."

"I see." The bartender placed down a large mug filled with a murky liquid in front of the depressed doctor. "Cheers."

"Thank you," Dr. Ocktor took the mug and drained half of it with one gulp.

"Camoa is not far from Targ, it should take a full day to reach if you are riding a Chocobo." The Bartender rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Do you have problems with riding Chocobos?"

"No, none of the sort." The doctor raised his hand, as if to wave away the bartender's question, "I've been riding Chocobos all my life, transportation isn't the problem here."

"Then what is?"

"Bandits!" He brought up both of his arms in frustration, "Bandits on the highroad!"

"Bandits?"

"Yes! The brigands had halted my assistant while she was riding past the highroad last morn. Took her by surprise they did! The blaggards ordered her to drop all her valuables and return to the wood."

"I see, holding the highroad while robbing any passerby. What a detestable clan."

"Yes, and now I have no means to cure the poor boy who was brought in!" He began to sob, the alcohol was kicking in. "What am I to do? My conscience will not allow me to allow a boy to die when the means to the cure is right underneath my nose!"

The bartender could only put a comforting hand on the doctor's shoulder as he sobbed into his mug.

"I couldn't help but overhear, but did you mention that there were bandits guarding the highroad to Camoa?"

Interested, Edyal had abandoned her argument with Lynd and sat down next to the weeping doctor.

"Y–hic–yes." The doctor raised his tearstained face to look at Edyal, "Four brigands are–hic–guarding the pass at the highest point, ambushing any traveler who tries to head towards Camoa."

"I see, and how many bandits are there?" Edyal handed the doctor her handkerchief to wipe his tears, he accepted it gratefully.

"From what my–hic–Melanee told me," He blew into the handkerchief, "There were three of them, two humes and a moogle. They also had a–hic–wolf that they had captured, which they threatened to let loose on my assistant if she did not comply."

"Only four? Doesn't sound like that tough of a clan to me." Lynd had joined in on the conversation, he had tired of arguing with Edyal as well."If they're resorting to threatening doctor's assistants with wolves, then they must be pathetic in a battle."

"W–who are you?" He turned to the Bangaa who just appeared behind him, "Are you in a clan?"

"You are correct, doctor." Edyal replied, "We are Clan...ahem, well, we do not have a clan name as of currently, but we are a clan nonetheless."

"Are you planning on travelling to Camoa?" Upon hearing that, the doctor sobered up almost instantly, "Do you think you can defeat the brigands that are blocking the way?"

Lynd laughed and patted the doctor on the back, giving him a slight jolt. "Our clan is one of the best! Of course we will not be defeated by a rag–tag clan made up of thieves and beasts!"

_And yet, only he was knocked unconscious during yesterday's battle..._ Edyal silently mused to herself.

"Then!" Ocktor grabbed Lynd's hands in a pleading way, "Please! I ask of you! I beg of you! I implore of you! I–"

"Enough of the begging and tell us what you want!" Lynd pulled his hands out of the doctor's grip, but it was no use. The doctor simply just grabbed them again.

"Take my Melanee along with you as you go past the highroad!" He begged, "I require the ingredients for my medicine, and only Melanee knows where to get it!"

"We wont be taking along extra baggage!" Lynd yelled into the doctor's face, "Another body would only slow us down in battle. Unless you say that she can pull her own weight, we won't accept your assistant!" He yanked his hands out of the doctor's grip again. This time, he moved his arms to where the doctor couldn't reach.

"As much as I dislike to agree with that brute," Edyal chimed in, "But he's right. An extra person would only do as much as slow us down. An extra body to take care of during a battle is a severe disadvantage."

Desperate, the doctor turned around and tried to appeal to Edyal, "No, she will not be useless baggage!" He said, "I've taught Melanee all I know about the White arts! She can heal your injuries if you are injured!"

"Hmm...having a White Mage along with us can be a blessing to us if we are planning on taking on another clan." A new voice joined in on the conversation. Edyal and Lynd quickly turned their seats around to discern who it was.

"Cid? Where have you been?" Edyal said with an irritated voice, "I've been looking for you all morning!"

"I've been out in the fields, helping Luso get his bearings for battle." Cid said proudly, "I must say, he's shaping up to be quite a contender."

"Luso?" Lynd asked, confused, "Who's Luso?"

"I daresay you'll meet him soon." Cid replied.

"A–are you the clan leader?" Ocktor leapt off his seat and stood in front of Cid. A strange sight, as the doctor's height was approximately around Cid's waist.

"That I am," Cid answered, crouching down to have a better look at the doctor, "I hear you have a request to make of my clan?"

"There is a patient, a sickly one, in my clinic." He quickly explained, "I can make a cure for his sickness, but I am missing an ingredient that can only be found in Camoa."

"So is that why you wish to have your assistant come with us to Camoa?"

"Yes, there is no way I can send her to face those bandits alone again!"

"Will you be willing to pay us to deliver her to Camoa?" Cid said, firmly, "As an official clan request."

"Name your price! All I want is to be able to cure the boy of his sickness!" The doctor was already trying to reach for his Gil pouch. Smiling, Cid placed a hand on the doctor's arm and stopped him.

"Do not worry, I wouldn't want to take money from such a dependable doctor." He stood up and faced Lynd and Edyal. "We'll be doing this quest, free of charge. For the sake of the sick child and for the sake of defeating a group of annoying bandits. If you two have any complaints, now would be the time to inform me."

"You're the boss, Cid." Lynd shrugged, "Though, personally. I would prefer to have a reward."

"Your reward will be doing a good deed for a ailing child. Isn't that good enough?"

"I suppose. You've always had a soft spot for children." Lynd walked towards the pub's exit, "I'll be off purchasing a new sword then. As you've all seem to have lost mine." He aimed a glare at Edyal, who simply looked the other way.

Shrugging, Cid turned back to face Dr. Ocktor. He crouched down again, making their faces level with each other.

"Alright then, Dr. Ocktor." He clapped his hands together, "We'll accept your request."

"T–thank you so much!" The doctor attempted to grab Cid's hands as he did with Lynd's and Edyal's before. However, Cid pulled away at the last second. He held up his index finger to the doctor's face.

"You'll have to introduce us to your assistant before we depart." Finishing his sentence, Cid turned around and walked out the pub with Ocktor struggling to follow along in his long strides. Edyal smiled and turned to the bartender.

"One Muskmallow Ale, if you would."

* * *

Meanwhile, a certain brown haired boy was having a little bit of trouble.

"Um..." Luso mumbled, "Do you think you can...um..."

"What is it?" A red haired girl replied through a mouth of sewing needles, "Oh, try not to move, I don't want to prick you."

"..."

After Cid had parted with Luso at the local bazaar, he was left at the mercy of the young shopkeeper. She took just one look at the sordid state his clothes was in, and immediately grabbed the young boy and pushed him into the back room. Stripping him of all his clothes except his boxers, the girl forced Luso to stand still as she began to design a brand new outfit for him. On the spot.

"Just hold still for a little bit longer," She assured him, "I'm almost done with your new garments."

"That's...not really my worry..." Luso mumbled again, feeling slightly embarrassed at being half naked in front of her. Earlier, Cid had simply laughed at Luso's situation and left, saying something about meeting up with Edyal.

Regardless of his feelings, the red haired tailor continued with her sewing. "I've sewn in several beast hides into your new clothes." She said plainly, "It'll be strong enough to withstand most cuts and scrapes, so _I_ do not have to worry much about you _severely destroying_ it like you did with your previous clothes."

The clothing destroyer gulped. That comment had a chilling air surrounding it. Inwardly, he vowed to take better care of his clothes from now on.

"Honestly, I cannot understand how one can even think about destroying such a beautiful outfit." She complained, "The clothes you had on was a masterpiece! The sewing on it was expertly done, and the material used was something I've never even seen before!"

_That's probably because it was a factory–made uniform ordered by my school. _Luso remarked wryly.

"It's simply unbelievable." The shopkeeper shook her head, whipping her long red hair behind her. She jabbed another needle into her mouth and resumed her work.

"So...when will this new outfit be done?" Luso asked, he was beginning to feel uncomfortable from standing in the same position for so long.

The girl held up five fingers in response.

"Seconds?"

She shook her head.

"Minutes?"

She shook her head again.

"...hours?"

A nod.

Luso sighed and hung his head hopelessly.

"...OUCH!"

He got pricked.

* * *

**A/N: **I'd like to have a doctor like Ocktor.


	5. Pinned Wings

**The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2**

* * *

**Chapter 4**: "Pinned Wings"

The Camoa Highroad. An oft-used passageway that connects the two neighboring provinces, Camoa and Targ Wood together. Adventurers, merchant caravans, and clans often use this highroad instead of attempting to navigate through the dense forest that serves as the alternate path. Recently, however, this highroad has been subjugated by a clan of rogues, merciless thieves who plan to rob any passerby that crosses the highroad.

This clan of thieves is called the Yellow Wings. Once a large clan consisting of many members, an unknown event had befallen the Yellow Wings in the past, and the number of people has steadily dwindled from then, until only three were left. Eventually, the dark reputation of the Yellow Wings have left the three remaining members to resort to petty acts.

Such as blocking off a commercial highroad for valuables.

One of the members of the Yellow Wings stretched out his limbs. He lied on a leafy tree branch overlooking the highroad, his yellow cap hanging precariously near the end of the branch. In his hand, he held a small carrot–shaped necklace. He sighed and leaned back, holding up the small red necklace.

"What a drag." He said in a depressed voice, "To have robbed a young, defenseless woman. How shameful of me, I should've shot an arrow at Dirk when he tried to manhandle her."

The hunter glanced over the side of the tree branch. There were two other people sitting underneath the tree, both were busy conversing heatedly with each other. One of them, a hume wearing a dark green bandanna stood up and hit his companion over the head with the back of his hand. The small moogle was knocked aside and into the underbrush.

"And there he goes again, smacking poor Ereio around." The observer said, "He really needs to keep his temper under control...oop!"

The hunter quickly snatched up his hanging yellow cap and scooted deeper into the leaves.

"Dolroth!" The angry thief yelled, "Get your behind down here and grab your bow! We've got company heading west!"

"Drat. He saw me." Dolroth cursed his luck, "Damn Dirk, just go and rob them yourself if you're so inclined."

Grabbing his bow, the hunter leapt off the branch and landed next to the thief.

"Took you long enough!" Dirk spat angrily, "What were you doing up there? Feeding the birds?"

"Possibly. Anything that doesn't have to do with associating with you is a blessing for me."

"You better watch your mouth," The thief unhooked a sharp dagger off his belt, "Unless you don't mind losing your tongue."

"Such threatening words from a clanmate." Dolroth stared directly at the threatener's eyes, ignoring his threat, "What have you turned the Yellow Wings into? A pitiful group of thieves that take petty change and trinkets from people that pass our way? Attacking unarmed merchants or young maidens who have no chance to defend theirselves? You are truly an honorable man, Dirk."

"I've heard enough out of you!" Dirk aimed a slice with the dagger at Dolroth's face. A bloody gash appeared on the side of his cheek. Unflinching, the hunter kept staring at the angry thief. The two stood in the same spot for an undetermined amount of time, staring, daring each other to say a word or make a move. Until the sound of footsteps broke the silence.

"There is a group of people passing through the highroad – kupo!" The moogle, recovered from the hit he had taken from Dirk earlier, had ran between the two fighting humes and reported the situation.

"Damn it, I don't have time to argue with you!" Hooking his dagger back onto his belt, Dirk grabbed the messenger by his antenna and lifted him up. Ereio let out a yelp of pain.

"How many are there? And how far are they?!" He hollered into the moogle's face, lifting him up higher.

"Ku–!!" Ereio cried out in pain, "There's...there's four! Four vieras! They've just reached the foot of the highroad path! P–please let me go! – kupo!"

"Vieras?" Dolroth's attention turned towards the flailing moogle. Grabbing Dirk's hand, he glared at his clanmate. "Unhand him Dirk, you're going to pull off his entire antenna!"

"Tch!" The thief threw the moogle onto the ground roughly, eliciting a painful squeak from the furry clanmate.

"Are the vieras armed?" Dolroth pulled the poor moogle up from the ground and handed him a small vial of medicine, which Ereio gratefully accepted.

"No – kupo, they aren't." Said Ereio while dabbing drops of medicine on his injured scalp, "They appear to be mages–green mages. Inexperienced ones by the look of it – kupo."

"Ripe produce for the taking, then!" Dirk rubbed his hands together, a greedy grin spread onto his face. "Go and get the hound Ereio, we'll cut them off at the summit of the pass."

"The hound?!" Dolroth exclaimed, shocked. "These vieras are unarmed! Harmless! You're planning on loosing the wolf onto more defenseless women?!"

"Your heart is too soft!" Dirk yelled in response, "We control the highroad! There will be nobody that will pass through! Women, children, elderly! Unarmed or not!"

With that, Dirk yanked the poor moogle from the ground and walked off into the forest. Dolroth was silent. In his hand was the small necklace they had pilfered from the girl before. It felt hot, as if it was going to burn a hole in his hand.

* * *

"Well, isn't that a sight. You look like a real fighter now, don't you think?"

Having finally finished with his three–hour long clothing session, Luso finally walked into the pub wearing his new uniform. Intent on showing off to Cid. Unfortunately, the Revgaji was nowhere to be found. Only Edyal was there to greet the young boy. Feeling slightly disappointed, Luso took a seat next to the nu mou black mage.

"You think so?"

"Indeed," Nodding, Edyal handed him a mug. It was filled with a white, cloudy liquid. Luso eyed it warily.

"Where's Cid?" Luso took off his new red hat and put it on the counter, "He said he was going to pick me up from the store after my new outfit was done."

"He had some clan–related business to take care of. I believe he will be back soon." Edyal stared at the small pocket that was hanging off Luso's right side. "What is inside that pocket on your right leg?"

"Oh this?" Luso reached down and undid the clasp. Reaching inside, he pulled out the small notebook that had came with him when he was transported.

"Your journal?" Edyal commented.

"Yeah." Luso laid it out on the counter, moving aside the mug that he probably wasn't going to drink from. "I didn't want to lose it. The shopkeeper girl had taken away my old clothes, saying something about researching it. So this notebook is the only thing I have to remind me of where I came from."

"I see. So it's a memento?"

"Something like that..." Luso looked at the first page of the book, where his hastily–written reflections for Mr. Blair was scribbled down. He felt a slight pang of sadness as he read over his own writing. Unknowingly, he began to frown.

"Is something the matter?" The nu mou asked.

"I'm just wondering what my friends are doing right now. And my auntie too." Luso said, "I don't know if they found out that I'm missing or not. It's already been an entire day, my Auntie must be really worried."

"Your 'Auntie?'" Edyal questioned, "Don't you have a father or a mother?"

Luso fiddled around with a corner of a page, "I dunno. I never met them before. I've always been raised by my Auntie."

"Hmm.."

"Well, I shouldn't worry too much." Luso said, his face back to it's usual smiling expression, "I'm sure everything will work out eventually. I can probably tell Auntie that Mr. Blair just made me go to summer camp for my bad grades or something."

"How easygoing of you." Edyal commented, taking another sip from her drink. "You honestly remind me of Cid in many ways."

"Do I?" Luso picked up a spoon and examined his reflection.

"I didn't mean it in that way."

"What did you mean it like then?" Luso persisted.

"Well..." She was smiling widely. It was amusing to see how much the boy wanted to be compared with Cid.

Before she could begin to explain however, she was suddenly interrupted by the door to the pub opening. As luck would have it, the subject of their conversation was standing in the doorway.

"Luso, so this is where you were." Said Cid, clapping his hands together, "Edyal, Luso, can both of you meet me outside?"

With no further words, the Revgaji turned around and exited as suddenly as he came in. Luso and Edyal stared at the door, dumbfounded.

"Do I resemble that side of him?" Luso asked, packing his notebook back into his pocket and replacing his hat back onto his head.

"No, I don't think you do."

* * *

"So what's the big announcement Cid?"

Luso and Edyal both walked out the dim pub and into the harsh sun of the afternoon. Covering his eyes, Luso could make out the large silhouette that belonged to Cid, who appeared to be standing next to someone else.

"Who is with you?" Asked Edyal, angling her large hat to block out the bright sun rays.

"Lynd still isn't back from the bazaar yet? I was planning on introducing our two new clan members to him in one go." Cid replied, looking around for the absent warrior. He gave up and shrugged. "I suppose I will have to inform him later."

"Two?" Edyal turned towards Luso, the first new member of the clan. "Then that person standing beside you is..."

"Luso. Edyal." Cid gestured to both of them, "Meet Melanee."

Both of them moved forward slightly. Luso could see more clearly who was Cid's companion. It was a girl, a girl who had very tanned skin. Almost opposite to Edyal's dark dressings, she had on a cloak that was colored a bright white. The cloak had a large hood that the girl used to shield her head from the burning sun. Long white hair flowed out from either side of the girl's face, almost melding into the white of the cloak itself. Two large ears, resembling that of a rabbit's, extruded out of the top of the girl's head. Two slits were cut into the hood, allowing them to pass through unimpeded.

"So this is Dr. Ocktor's assistant?" Said Edyal as she looked over the new recruit, who quickly bowed. "A viera, hm?"

"She'll be accompanying us as we head towards Camoa." Cid said, mainly for Luso's benefit. "As you can see, she's a white mage. So she'll be a valuable asset if we are to get into any trouble."

Cid patted the girl on the shoulder. She made a small squeak and jumped up a bit. Edyal raised an eyebrow. This girl appeared to be quite timid, almost painfully shy.

"Hello there!" Luso energetically extended a hand for a handshake, "I'm Luso! Nice to meet you!"

"H–hello..." Melanee replied shakily, staring at the boy's outstretched hand as if it was a particularly strange piece of fruit.

"Um..." Luso withdrew his hand. He scratched his head, thinking of what to say next. A strange air of awkwardness appeared to expand between the two. He turned to Cid for help, who simply scratched his head and shrugged in reply.

"Ahem," Edyal coughed, jolting the two of them out of their silence, "Mayhaps you should get on with telling us what you have planned for us, Cid?"

"Aye, Luso, Edyal, Melanee." Cid called each of his clan members to attention, "In a quarter of an hour, we will be heading towards Camoa through the highroad. Melanee, you've encountered the group that has taken control over the highroad before, right?"

"Yes..." She clutched her chest tightly, "They stopped me yesterday. They told me to drop everything I had on me and go back to the village. I tried to let them know that I was on an important errand, but...but... they didn't listen..."

"Then one of them...a moogle...took out this flute and blew into it." She continued, "Then I heard this terrifying howl..."

"Must be the wolf Ocktor had warned us about." Edyal nodded, her expression grim. "These thieves are heartless, or perhaps simply cowards with no courage to fight armed men."

Cid nodded, his face was reflecting Edyal's expression. "I agree, these people actually have the audacity to loose a wolf on an unarmed passerby." He crossed his arms, "We will have to teach these brigands a lesson. A very harsh lesson."

Grabbing onto his sword, Luso withdrew it from his new sheath showily. He gave it a few swings and then stabbed it into the ground in front of him.

"I can't forgive anyone who bullies people!" He yelled angrily, "Let me at them, I'll make sure they pay for what they did!"

Stifling a laugh, Cid took Luso's sword out of the ground and returned it to him, "You'll want your sword in perfect condition if you want to fight anyone, Luso."

Everyone laughed as Luso embarrassedly fumbled with putting his sword back into it's sheath, even Melanee gave a small giggle at the boy's antics.

* * *

"Are you happy now Dirk?" Spat Dolroth angrily, "These women had no valuables on them at all, they put up no fight, and even pleaded mercy!"

"Shut up!" The thief marched over to Dolroth and slugged him in the face, sending him to the ground.

The aftermath of the ambush resulted in a total victory for the Yellow Wings. Although what can construe as a victory in this battle can be debated. Four unarmed women were suddenly attacked by a large wolf from inside the woods. The outcome was obvious.

"They should be lucky that they are still in the realm of the living!" Dirk kicked the one of the four unconscious vieras, "What family do they come from? We might be able to negotiate a ransom! Ha!"

"You piece of sh–" Dolroth coughed, he could feel his anger reaching the boiling point. "You can hurt me as much as you want, but don't you dare lay a hand on women!"

"Who do you think you are?" Dirk sneered, "Some sort of righteous paladin? You are a part of the Yellow Wings! You have no right to speak such honorable words!"

He laughed cruelly. Silently, Dolroth gritted his teeth in anger.

"Kupo! People sighted!" Ereio called out from his vantage point on the tree, "There's people coming up the highroad – kupo!"

"Two in one day?" The thief said gleefully, "The Goddess of Luck must be smiling down at me!"

_There wouldn't exist any sort of woman that would smile on you. You coward. _Dolroth cursed, _Not even a Goddess..._

"How many are there?" Dirk called up. The moogle stretched out further, trying to make out the distant shapes marching towards them.

"About...five! Five people – kupo!" Ereio announced.

"Five?!" Dirk could feel his glee slowly drain from him, "You better not be lying, or else I will go up there and skin you myself!"

"N–no!" The moogle shuddered, "It's not a lie – kupo! There really are five bodies coming this way! Armed too! "

"A–armed?!" The thief said in a hollow voice. From below him, Dolroth snickered. "What's so funny?!"

"Nothing!" Dolroth laughed louder, "Are you afraid? Facing actual 'produce' that can fight back?"

Angry, Dirk kicked the hunter on the ground violently. Dolroth felt himself lose consciousness for a second, before his body struck a tree. In his clouding vision, he could see the thief approach him with his dagger drawn.

"You...!" Dirk raised his dagger, ready to take the life of the one who insulted him. Suddenly, Ereio landed between the two and blocked Dirk's path.

"There's no time to fight amongst ourselves – kupo!" Ereio yelled, "The party is going to reach the foot of the highroad soon – kupo! We have to get a strategy thought out – kupo!"

The bloodlust in the thief's eyes hadn't faded yet, but he managed to compose himself. Lowering his dagger, he glared at the moogle standing in front of him. Ereio stared back fearlessly.

"Get the hostages, tie them up." He commanded, "I have a plan."

* * *

"So you're using my sword?" Lynd asked the brown haired boy walking next to him, "I'm slightly amazed that you can even lift it."

"I'm kinda surprised too." Luso unsheathed the sword and held it out in front of him, "I've been told that I'm good at sports, but I never really worked out or anything like that."

"Sports?" The bangaa queried. "Is that a form of fighting or dueling?"

"N–no, not really." Luso replied back, scratching his head, "It's more like games, really."

"Then this sports must have trained your body in some way," Lynd crossed his arms and nodded at his own statement, "You must show me what this sports is someday."

"Eh...heh." The boy could only give a weak smile in response. He couldn't imagine the large bangaa playing dodgeball or soccer with him, the thought itself was too odd to even think about.

After waiting a while, the group had reunited with their last member. Lynd was quickly introduced to the two recruits. Although he was irritated at Luso for taking his sword in the beginning, he quickly warmed up to the boy, chatting freely with him as they set forth to cross the highroad.

"We're here." Cid stopped his group. Looking around for any potential enemies, Cid unsheathed his sword. The rest of the group did the same, with Melanee and Edyal taking out their staves instead.

He took the first step onto the stone road, gesturing behind his back to tell the rest to hold their positions. Luso gripped his sword anxiously, awaiting the appearance of the thieves he had sworn to beat down. Cid took another step towards the rising highroad until...

"Step no further!" A loud voice announced from the top of the road. A hume wearing a green bandanna stepped out from behind a large stone on the road. In his right hand, he held a sharp dagger, and in his left, he held a thick rope that extended to behind the rock.

"We don't take orders from thieves." Cid replied back, taking another step to emphasize his point.

"I said, STEP NO FURTHER!" The thief yanked his left hand, pulled the rope taut. From behind the rock, four bound vieras fell in front of him. He crouched down, holding his knife above the face of one of the vieras. The poor girl tried to scream, but her mouth was gagged by a piece of fabric.

"Unless you want me to make this girl look less appealing to men, you will drop all your weapons, gil, and other valuables and return immediately!" He demanded, lowering the blade closer to the viera's eye.

"Try it then, pierce her eye out." He said firmly, "However, once that blade of yours reaches the viera's head, I will cut you down in an instant."

"Don't you fear for this girl's life?" Surprised at the man's indifference to his hostage, the thief lowered his dagger slightly.

"Oh, I do." Cid stated plainly, "But I would fear more for your life if you are going to continue moving that knife of your's closer to the girl."

"Ugh!" Facing such bravery, the thief couldn't decide what to do. In his mind, he knows that the red man was not lying when he stated that he will be cut down if he even nicks the girl's face. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ereio hiding behind a tree. The moogle gave him a thumbs up. Dirk smiled, maybe he can get out of this situation after all.

"Alright then, you win Revgaji." Dirk stood up, holding both of his hands up in a sign of defeat. Cid was taken aback at the thief's sudden action. He lowered his sword for a fraction of a second.

"NOW!" Suddenly, Dirk took his dagger and flung it at the Revgaji. He quickly ducked backwards, behind the rock that he was hiding behind before.

"What?!" Cid hastily deflected the flying blade and began to charge towards the attacker. He only made about three steps until he was bowled over by a large mass of red. Looking up, Cid could see a long row of sharp teeth, all poised to bite into his flesh.

"Cid!" Lynd and Luso yelled out together. They saw the wolf pounce on their leader, and they quickly ran towards him to help. "Luso, I'll take care of the wolf. You go and get that thief!"

"But!"

"I can handle that wolf by myself, don't dawdle!" Lynd barked, he pointed at the vieras on the highroad, "Go and save those hostages!"

"R–right!" Luso veered off towards the direction of the highroad. Leaving Lynd to go and prise the wolf off the Revgaji.

* * *

Edyal held out her staff, allowing it to float unhindered in front of her.

"Stay back, Melanee." She said to the white mage behind her. Who quickly nodded and retreated a few steps. Edyal closed her eyes and began to concentrate. Words slowly began to form in her mind, and she recited them.

"_Glistening spears that strip away the ground_..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Cid had jammed his sword in between the wolf's jaws. Forbidding it from crunching down on some Revgaji steak. With his right hand, he punched the beast in the chest, trying to push it off of him, but it's claws had already sunk deeply into his clothes, anchoring the beast on top of him.

"Get off me!" He aimed another fist at the beast, but it had the same effect as the first punch. The wolf simply didn't want to let go. It swung it's head a few times, making Cid's sword fly out of it's mouth and clanging onto the ground. With it's mouth free, it began to descend upon it's prey.

"Grrrrah!" In the nick of time, Lynd grabbed the wolf by the back of it's neck and held it's head back with his great strength. "Cid, NOW!"

Taking this chance, Cid threw another punch at the wolf. This time, he aimed at the hanging jaw in front of him.

Crack!

A perfect hook, the fist impacted into the side of the beast's jaw, dislocating it. With a yelp, the wolf unhooked it's claws from Cid's clothing and leapt off. It dashed away, giving the two warriors a wide berth.

"You alright, Cid?" Lynd pulled his leader up.

"I've been better." Cid walked over to his fallen sword and picked it up. He glared at the beast, who glared back at him.

"Wolf, huh?" Lynd licked his lips, "I can't say much about the beast itself, but I hear it's meat is a delicacy in many places."

"I don't know about you, but I don't feel like eating something that has that many fangs."

"You never know, it might be delicious!" Lynd charged towards the delicacy, his sword poised to cut it into pieces.

* * *

"Huff...huff..." Luso panted. He had reached the foot of the high road. Now all that's separating him from the thief above is a flight of rough stone stairs. Gathering up his remaining energy, he began to run up, two steps at a time.

"Where do you think you're going?" A voice came from somewhere above him. Luso quickly looked up. He saw a pointy arrow aimed straight at him. There was someone standing on the tree branches, and he was staring straight down at the boy.

Instinctively, Luso raised his sword to protect himself. The person holding the bow and arrow didn't make any move to respond, but began to speak again.

"Are you planning on saving the girls? Being a hero and all that?" Dolroth said, keeping his arrow trained on the defending boy.

"Yeah!" He called back fearlessly, "I'm going to be a hero and beat up all you cowardly thieves!"

"Cowardly thieves?" The hunter laughed, "I think you mean cowardly _thief._"

"What?" Luso was confused, did he just insult his own teammate?

"Oh, it's nothing. It's a personal issue I have against our leader. But none of that, why don't you show me what you got?" He lowered his bow, and gestured towards the top of the road.

"You're letting me pass?"

"You could say that, you're a hero. Aren't you?" He replied, "Go and save the day, I won't stop you."

"How do I know you wont just shoot me in the back?"

"Simple." Dolroth took out a small, carrot shaped necklace from his pocket, "I'm no coward."

* * *

"Um..." Melanee was watching the black mage in front of her, "Miss Edyal...?"

"..._Indefatigable blades_ _that fall from the sky..._" Edyal continued, as if she was in a trance. Melanee looked around them, there was no targets they could hit from here, even if they were to use a magick spell. So what was Edyal aiming at?

"..._Strike my target, lights of heaven!_" The nu mou suddenly opened her eyes and grasped the staff that was floating in front of them. Wielding it like a spear, she thrust it towards the woods powerfully, her large hat falling off in the process. The tip of the staff erupted like a cannon, bright lights flew out of the end and raged towards the forest in jagged lines.

"Eek!" Melanee looked the other way as the lighting flash nearly blinded her eyes, "Miss Edyal! What are you firing at?!"

Her answer came to her quickly as a squeaky scream erupted from inside the forest. Edyal picked up her hat and dusted it off. Melanee blinked away the spots in her vision and turned around. She could see a small moogle standing behind what was left of a tree. A large, charred hole was left in the middle of the thick tree trunk, revealing the moogle that was hiding behind it.

"An animist hm?" Edyal stared at the moogle's furry green cap, "That explains how you managed to capture a wolf and tame it."

"Kupo!!" Ereio took out a small whip and raced towards the black mage. Edyal did nothing, only staring at the incoming moogle.

"Melanee, have you heard of a saying called 'lightning never strikes twice?'"

"Um...I think Dr. Ocktor mentioned something like it before...why?"

"Don't believe it, especially if you are around a black mage."

"Huh?"

Suddenly, an aura of light emitted from the tip Edyal's staff. A small glow, not like the flash from before. Edyal took the staff and raised it up high above her head.

"_Lightning!_"

From above the running moogle, a small black storm cloud began to gather. Looking down, Ereio noticed that his shadow had nearly doubled in size. He stopped and looked up.

"Oh n–" A large bolt dropped down from the cloud and struck the tip of the moogle's pom pom as if it was a lightning rod. "Kupoooooooooooooooo–––!"

Comically, the small animist was lifted up into the air by the energy of the lightning and flew aside. He landed into the forest, unconscious.

"Don't worry." Edyal brought her staff back down beside her, "That wasn't enough to give you any lasting damage."

She turned back and smiled at Melanee, who had fallen onto the ground from the sudden impact of the lightning.

"Don't worry Melanee." Edyal said, extending a hand to help the white mage up, "Lightning might strike twice, but it is unlikely that it will strike thrice."

* * *

**A/N**: No, it wasn't a doublecast. Lightning is a two-part spell. Also, I know that Animists use musical instruments as weaponry, but if you look at the official art for a Moogle Animist, you can see clearly that they wield a whip. Well, not that it really matters, I guess.


	6. Highroad Brawl

**The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2**

* * *

**Chapter 5: **"Highroad Brawl"

With a piercing howl, the wolf lunged forward, ready to intercept the bangaa's attack with his sharp claws.

"Gah!" Stopping in his tracks, Lynd quickly revised his attacking pose into a defensive one. Holding his sword up to his face, he managed to stop the claws from mangling his face. A loud screeching noise emitted from the blade as the wolf pounced off, pushing the bangaa back a few steps. Regaining his composure, Lynd took a quick glance at his sword.

"Nnnnrgh!" He roared in frustration. A trio of long clawmarks now adorn the flat of his new sword, "This was a new blade, you dirty beast!"

Raising dirt from beneath his feet, Lynd began to charge at the wolf again. Ready to extract his 130–gil worth of vengeance. The wolf quickly turned around, running towards the forest. The enraged bangaa quickly followed, his damaged sword ready to attack at any time.

"Lynd!" Cid called after the bangaa, but he was already inside the wood by then. He began to run after the two retreating figures, but his charge was cut short, as he suddenly fell onto the ground with a dull thump. His sword clattering down beside him.

"What in the world?" Pulling himself up, he took a quick look at his body. Two rows of bloody holes were on his chest, and it was leaking a disturbingly purple liquid out. Grimacing, Cid quickly tried to wipe the liquid with the sleeve of his shirt, but it was futile. As more of the strange, discolored liquid kept flowing out.

_Poison._ Cid thought, _The thieves must've coated the wolf's claws with them before they sicced it on us. It's affecting my legs, I can't run in this state._

He grasped the hilt of his sword, using it to push him up from the ground. Using it as a crutch, Cid managed to stand back onto his feet.

_This is a pathetic sight._ He mused to himself, _But there's no time to pity myself, I have to tell Lynd before he even gets a single cut!_

Unsteadily, Cid began to drag himself towards the forest.

* * *

Plodding onwards, Luso was nearing the top of the highroad. He was allowed to pass by the supposed guard, the hunter. Although slightly suspicious, he decided to trust the hunter for now and rushed up the steps as fast as he could.

"I'm here!" He announced as he leaped onto the top of the stone highroad. Littered all over the highroad were large, square stone blocks that had fallen from what was once a wall that lined the road's edges. There, in front of him, lied one of the tied up vieras. Quickly taking out his sword, Luso rushed to the woman's side and began to cut the ropes binding her torso.

"Don't worry, I'm going to cut you free in a second." The viera made a few muffled words and wiggled around frantically. "Don't move! I'm trying to cut the ropes, I don't want to accidentally cut you!"

However, the bound hostage only made more muffled sounds and tried to point behind Luso with one of her bound fingers. Luso took no notice of this and continued trying to cut the ropes with his sword.

"Gah, this is hard!" He said while hacking viciously at the ropes, which were proving to be a difficult task to sever with his sword's long edge. To make matters more difficult, the green mage kept struggling frantically, wriggling around in her bindings like a frenzied bagworm. Finally, Luso managed to cut through one rope, releasing one of the viera's arms. Instantly, she lifted it and desperately pointed behind him.

"What is it–" As the boy turned around to look behind him, there was a sudden glint of light. A bright flash, followed by a splattering of red.

"Aaaaghah!" He fell to his knees, clutching his face. A bloody ridge had formed on his temple, dribbling blood down onto his face. In his reddening vision, he could see two booted feet in front of him. One foot lifted up and slammed forwards, burying itself deeply into Luso's chest. He tumbled over the viera on the ground, and landed on his front.

Dirk took his bloody dagger and wiped it off with his shirt. From the beginning, he had been observing the boy's ascent up the highroad. Hiding behind one of the large blocks of stone, he had witnessed the exchange between his treacherous teammate Dolroth, and the boy's futile attempt at trying to untie one of the hostages he left out as bait. Stepping over his hostage, he smirked at the boy on the ground.

_What a fool, trying to save such an obvious bait. _He thought to himself, _I knew I wouldn't be able to trust Dolroth to prevent anyone from coming up here. I'll have to deal with him later, a pointy reckoning for that traitorous swine._

"Aaaag–hagh....aaah..." Luso panted, trying to stomach the pain that was assaulting him. His face was burning, and he could feel the warm liquid flow all over his face. Although he couldn't see the state that his face was in, he could imagine what it probably looked like now. The thought of it nearly made him want to vomit.

"You little brat." A horrible voice came from somewhere above him, "Did you delude yourself into thinking that you're some sort of heroic knight?"

Luso tried to push himself up, but a foot quickly came down on his back, knocking him back down onto the ground.

"G–get off..." Luso grunted, his face uncomfortably pressed against the ground. Dirk gave a nasty laugh and put more weight on his foot, pushing Luso harder against the stone.

"I don't think so, brat." He laughed again and applied even more force. Straining against the pressure, Luso lifted one of his arms and tried to push back against him.

"I said..." Luso took his other arm and began to push with both hands. Dirk's eyes widened as he felt his foot begin to rise up from the boy's resistance. "GET OFF ME!"

With one powerful push, Luso pushed himself up from the ground, launching the thief's foot off his back. Staggering slightly, Dirk only had seconds to compose himself until the boy had rushed at him, sword drawn.

"Kah!" Dirk quickly raised his dagger and attempted to parry the blow. Luso's sword and his dagger clashed against each other, both sides fighting to gain the advantage. Luso stood his ground and grabbed the blade of his sword with his other hand. Using both hands, Luso began to push harder and stronger, making the thief take a few steps backwards.

_How does this brat have so much strength?!_ Being forced to take another step back, Dirk was beginning to panic. The edge of the highroad was just behind him. If he were to move back another few inches, he would most likely lose his balance and fall down the steps.

He could feel his foot sliding slightly. Glancing down, Dirk saw that he had stepped into a patch of loose gravel. Quickly thinking, he wriggled his boot slightly so that a few of the gravel would be covering the front end of it.

"Don't get cocky brat!" He yelled as he quickly kicked upwards with his gravel–coated foot, sending several small pebbles skyward and towards Luso's face.

"That won't work on me!" Flashing back to the training he had received this morning, Luso quickly averted his eyes. The small rocks clattered harmlessly against the side of his face.

"What–?" The thief exclaimed, surprised that his cheap trick had failed him. Luso replied with a forceful push, knocking him to the ground. Dirk's dagger went flying above him, falling down the steps of the highroad with repeated clinks.

The situation had reversed, now Luso was the one standing above the thief. He pointed his sword down at the thief, as if daring him to make a move.

* * *

"Cid!" Melanee and Edyal had caught up with the injured revgaji. At one look at Cid's wounds, Melanee screamed.

"What happened Cid?" Edyal waved her staff in front of Melanee's face, quieting her down, "It's not like you to limp after a fight."

"Poison." Cid painfully gestured to the purplish liquid that covered his chest, "That wolf had poison covering it's claws, got into my system when it managed to gore me with them."

"It's only affecting your legs?" Edyal diagnosed, watching Cid lean heavily on his sword "Must be a simple poison then, no real threat to your life."

"Aye, but it'll render me useless for a few hours, I'd expect." To demonstrate, he tried to move his leg. No response. He grimaced.

"I need to inform Lynd." He said, "He went tearing off after that wolf after it escaped to the forest. If he even gets a scratch, he'll be easy prey for it."

"We have no antidotes," Edyal said, rummaging through her pack, "A potion might cleanse the wound slightly, but you'll still probably be unable to move those legs of yours."

"Damn."

Cid adjusted his grip on his sword, trying to regain his balance. While doing so, he felt a cool breeze blow past his arms. Turning his head to find the source, he saw Melanee standing stock still, her eyes closed and her hands grasping her staff tightly.

"_Oh heavenly wind..._" She began to recite an incantation. A soft, white glow began to envelop her staff as she spoke the words.

"That's right!" Edyal clasped her hands together, "Melanee, you've learned several white arts from Dr. Ocktor, haven't you?"

"_Carry the injured to a fountain of strength..._" She continued, as if in a trance. The breeze intensified slightly, making her white robes ruffle in the wind. Cid could feel his body becoming lighter.

"_And wash away all impurities!_" Opening her eyes, Melanee raised her staff up high. A sudden gust blew in from behind her, as if someone was carrying an abnormally large fan. "_Esuna!_"

Cid felt the cool wind blow through his body, traveling through his flesh and skin as if they were nonexistent. He let go of his blade, and found that he could stand on his feet again. The wind died down, and Melanee let down her staff. Cid gave a few test kicks with his feet, and found that they were in perfect working condition.

"Amazing, I'm completely cured!" He glanced down at his chest, the punctured holes were still there, but the purple liquid had disappeared completely. "Magick is truly amazing."

"Please don't move yet, Mr. Cid." Melanee had closed her eyes again, and was beginning to cast another spell. "I'm about to remove those injuries from your chest..."

"Aye, do as you will then."

Nodding, Melanee began another incantation.

"_The refreshing breeze of life..._"

* * *

"Come out, come out...where ever you are!"

Sticking out his tongue, Lynd smelled the air. A quick whiff and he began to run off into another direction. After following the wolf into the wood, he had lost sight of the red beast and was now trying to locate it using his senses.

Rushing past another pair of trees, Lynd found a set of tracks on the grassy ground. Smiling slightly, Lynd imagined the wolf on his dinner plate as he began to silently follow the tracks.

"Aye...delicious morsel, where might you be?" He took his sword and cleaved a bush aside, revealing nothing. "Curses. I'll find you and you'll pay the price of my sword with your meat!"

From behind the bangaa, a pair of glowing yellow eyes stared intently. Waiting for a chance to strike, it crouched down underneath the underbrush where it hid. Two rows of purple–tinted claws glinted softly as it primed it's weapons for attacking.

"Damn, where could it be?" Lynd raised his sword to cut another swath of bush away. "This is becoming increasingly irritat – Ack!"

Raising his sword too high, he had accidentally hit a low hanging tree branch. A storm of leaves came raining down upon the bangaa, obscuring his vision for a few seconds.

Perfect time to strike.

"Graaaaaaaooooooooh!" With a loud howl, the wolf tore out of it's hiding spot. It's claws extended and pointed straight at the bangaa's exposed back. It pounced, ready to strike a debilitating blow.

"There you..." Lynd quickly spun around at the sound of the wolf's howl, "...ARE!"

With the momentum of his spin feeding the strength of his sword. He slammed the flat of the blade straight into the side of the wolf's torso, knocking it away and into the underbrush. A loud howl sounded out from the brush, and the wolf silently disappeared into the wood again.

"Not again!" He cursed his luck. Letting his prey get away from him was a blunder on his part. Mentally, he cursed himself and began to follow the fading scent of the wolf again.

* * *

"What're you going to do, brat?" Dirk sneered at the sword pointed at his throat, "You have the guts to cut me down?"

"..." Luso was silent. He didn't want to kill anyone, that wasn't what he had in mind when he ran up the steps to face the thief. And now, he was at the liberty of deciding his enemy's fate.

"Well? You gonna to get on with it or not?" Dirk goaded. The boy's face curled into a frustrated frown, making Dirk's sneer wider.

_A naïve boy. _He thought to himself, _He doesn't know the dangers of letting someone like me live!_

Dirk quickly reached behind his back and withdrew a bronze–colored clump of warped metal. With a quick motion, before Luso could even react, he took the clump and pressed it hard against Luso's sword. It stuck on and quickly began to melt like a blob of clay.

"What the?" Luso quickly pulled his sword back, and examined the strange object that had just been stuck onto his sword. The color and texture of the blob had begun to spread onto the sword's shiny surface, turning it dull and mottled. It was as if the sword was beginning to rust. In less than a few seconds, the once–silvery sword was now bronzed and filled with cracks.

"A knot of rust, a metal weapon's worst nightmare!" Dirk quickly pulled himself up and pulled out his third–and last–dagger. "Let's see you fight with that piece of junk!"

He leapt forward, dagger pointed at Luso. With no time to dodge, Luso raised his damaged sword and blocked the blow. Instantly, a large crack appeared in the middle of his sword, and a silver point poked through like a sharp worm. Dirk pulled his dagger back, leaving a long, oblong slit in the sword.

_This is bad..._ Luso thought as he checked his sword, _Any more hits and this sword is a goner!_

"What's wrong hero? Feeling under the weather?" Laughing, the thief swiped his dagger forward, ready to impale the damaged sword again.

"Shut up!" Luso dodged to the side, rolling on the ground. Dirk turned around and leaped at the boy on the ground. Luso barely managed to raise his sword in time to block the strike.

"Aha!" Dirk's dagger clashed against his rusty sword once again. Forming another large crack, he pulled back and readied himself for another charge. Luso scrambled up to his feet, glancing at his damaged sword uneasily.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?!" Yelling hysterically, Dirk swiped at the boy's sword again. Thinking quickly, Luso raised his arm.

"Agh!"

"You're nuts!"

Wincing from the pain, Luso grabbed the thief's arm and wrenched the dagger out of his hands. Instead of letting the dagger strike his sword, he let his arm act as a shield. Dirk, now disarmed and captured, was helpless against Luso's next attack.

"The blade might be rusted, but the hilt isn't!"

The butt of the sword came rushing down on the thief's head.

* * *

"All done!" Melanee reported happily. After a casting of Cure, Cid's wounds had magickally resealed themselves, and as a bonus, he felt as though he had an abundance of energy pumped into him. Picking up his sword, he gave a few test swings and nodded approvingly.

"That doctor sure had a good eye for protégées." Cid complimented. Melanee's tanned skin blushed red as she fiddled with one of the strands of hair beside her face. "Aye, I better go and get Lynd out of trouble now."

"Be careful, we wouldn't want you poisoned yet again." Edyal cautioned, "It would be quite troublesome, locating your body in the middle of the woods."

"I'll be cautious."

With that, Cid headed into the woods.

* * *

Lynd was getting irritated, tired, and angry. His hunt for his dinner was coming up fruitless. Every time he would find the wolf, it would simply run away. He managed to lose the wolf again, and now he's lost in a forest clearing.

_It's not even bothering to attack me now. _He complained, _At least make this hunt interesting, you annoying beast!_

A rustling noise sounded from behind him. Lynd turned around and threw his sword angrily towards the source. Thunk, the sword impaled itself into the heart of a tree. From behind the maimed tree, Cid came marching out.

"I'd prefer it if you wouldn't lob swords at your team mate." He reached up and yanked the sword out of the tree.

"Sorry, I thought you were the wolf." Lynd took his sword back and sheathed it. "That damn beast is running circles around me, can't find it anywhere."

"I see you aren't harmed in any way yet," Cid said, examining the bangaa's body.

"What's the problem?" Lynd asked, a little preturbed by the revgaji's stare.

Cid pointed at his purple–stained shirt, "That wolf has poisoned claws. One little scratch, and your body will be paralyzed. Fresh meat for the wolf."

"Agh...that would be bad." Lynd took a quick look at his own body for any scratches or cuts. Coming up clean, he gave a grunt and pounded his fist in his hand.

"Right then, let's get on with the hunt." Lynd walked towards the edge of the clearing.

"Aye."

_I wonder how Luso's doing?..._ Cid wondered while he followed the bangaa into the wood.

* * *

"Thank you so much, fair swordsman!" Said the viera as Luso removed her cloth gag. After taking a solid blow from the hilt of Luso's destroyed sword, the thief had crumpled to the ground unconscious.

"Ehehe..." Luso scratched behind his head embarrassedly, glancing down at his badly–damaged weapon. The blade was ruined, completely covered with mottled patches of rust, it's cutting edge was all but dulled. Moreover, there were multitudes of scratches and cracks it had obtained from parrying the thief's dagger. Basically, it was junk.

With a sigh, Luso sheathed the useless sword and wiped the blood off his arm. The wound wasn't too serious, and was already beginning to heal. Although he was a little disconcerted about his surprising vitality, he quickly brushed away the thought and began to descend the steps, motioning for the green mage to follow.

"My teammates are down there," He said, "Let's go meet up with them."

"That's fine, but..." The green mage looked backwards and scanned the highroad, as if there was something missing.

"What is it?" Luso asked, looking back as well.

"My friends, the rest of my clan." She replied, wringing her hands together worriedly, "They were captured by this man as well. When he took me to be a hostage, he knocked me out and separated me from them."

_Yeah, that's right. _Luso quickly remembered the scene earlier. When Dirk was threatening Cid with the hostages._ There were four of them before. Where did they go?_

"Okay, then!" Luso clapped his hands together and stepped back up onto the highroad, "Let's go look for them then. They can't be too far."

"Thank you again, swordsman!" The viera said happily.

"My name's Luso, not swordsman. Okay?"

The highroad was littered with large blocks of rock in various sizes. It wouldn't be odd to think that Dirk would hide the rest of the vieras behind one of them while he used one as bait. With this in mind, Luso climbed up onto the top of one of the larger rocks.

"Here's a good view!" He said, staring out into the forest that stretched out before him. From this vantage point, Luso could see every point on the highroad, from the entrance and all the way to the exit on the other side.

"Is that them?" Spotting a flash of green, Luso quickly jumped off and onto another nearby rock. Landing softly, he quickly scanned the area for more traces of green. A small beret, fallen near one of the rocks near the exit caught his eye. Jumping down, Luso made his way quickly towards the green hat.

"Bingo! There you all are!" Three unconscious vieras were hidden behind the stone block, propped up against the rock. A loose rope was lying on top of their bodies. Apparently, the person who tied them up didn't bother with retying the rest up. Luso quickly gathered up the rope and looped it over his shoulder. He was just about to rouse the girls when a sudden scream rent the air.

"What was that?" Turning around, Luso squinted his eyes to see what caused the scream. In the distance, he could make out two figures standing together, or rather, one figure grabbing onto the other. "Hey! What are you doing?!"

"BRAT!" Dirk's voice echoed through the highroad, "Get over here with your arms up, or else the woman will no longer be able to scream!"

Sunlight glinted off Dirk's hand. From somewhere, he had managed to retrieve yet another dagger. Holding the green mage in a headlock, he pressed the dagger threateningly against her face, drawing a few droplets of blood. The viera whimpered fearfully.

_Where the heck did he get that other dagger? _Luso thought while walking towards the captor, arms raised.

"Good, looks like even you can listen to directions, brat." Dirk sneered after the boy stopped in front of him.

"What do you want?" Luso replied defiantly. Mentally, he hit himself for not tying the thief up while he was unconscious.

Pressing the dagger deeper into the viera's skin, Dirk replied. "You're not one to ask questions here! Not unless you want to see this poor woman's face be torn off!"

"Grrgh..." Luso gritted his teeth angrily. Smiling cruelly, the thief had a wild look in his eye, as one would have if they had lost all reason. He tightened his grip on the green mage and began to step towards the boy. Once he was in range, the thief kicked Luso's feet out from under him, making him fall onto his knees.

"This is for humiliating me!" He stomped onto the boy's head, knocking his hat away and grinding his face into the stone. "This is for harming me!" He stepped harder, attempting to crush the boy's head into fine paste.

"Ghaaa...hghhhh..." Luso tried to endure the pain the best he could. He knew that if he made any sort of resistance or attack, the thief would probably stab the woman.

"Oh, you're a tough one!" Dirk cackled, "It doesn't matter if you don't resist or not anyway. I've decided to kill this woman anyway! I'm through with this life of petty thievery!"

"Y–you!"

"Haahaahahaa!" Dirk laughed horribly. He raised his dagger in preparation to stab the viera in his arms. "I'll deal with you after this one!"

In that instant, a red spray splashed over Luso.

"...That's the last straw, Dirk..."

* * *

**A/N: **I think a good part of me likes to write Dirk as a jerk more and more, and the other part of me tries to stop me from making him into such a monster. I don't particularly like this guy myself, but hey. In case you're wondering, he carries three daggers. One he threw at Cid, one he was using to fight Luso with, and the last one he hid somewhere on his body. He's a knife fanatic, and his name suits him, don't you think?


	7. Reconciliation

**The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2**

* * *

**Chapter 6**: "Reconciliation"

"I said I wouldn't allow you to lay a hand on those women, Dirk."

Jumping down from his hiding place in the trees, Dolroth hitched his bow to his back and roughly grabbed onto the thief's arm. With his other hand, he yanked out the arrow that he shot into Dirk's hand, knocking his dagger onto the ground in the process.

"D–Dolroth!" He yelled out, his hand spasming in pain, "What are you doing?!"

Dolroth gave him no reply, and simply wrenched Dirk's arms away from the viera, allowing her to run away from her captor. Without letting go of his arm, the hunter sharply yanked it downwards, slamming Dirk onto the ground.

"You're that hunter from before..." Luso coughed as he pulled himself up from the ground. His face was bruised and his head was aching, but he was relatively fine. Dolroth looked back and flashed Luso a quick thumbs up.

"You're not too bad," Dolroth said, complimenting him, "I've never seen Dirk lose his temper this badly before."

"Aren't you his teammate?" Luso said, rubbing his head to try and stop the aching, "Why are you helping me out?"

"I have a personal philosophy." Dolroth said as he placed his knees on the thief, pinning him down. "One, never harm a woman. Two, never let anyone else harm women. Dirk here stressed number two of my philosophy for too long, and I'm not going to stand for it any longer. Now can you toss me that rope you have there?"

Dolroth gestured towards the rope that Luso had wrapped around his shoulder. Luso took it off and handed it over to him, which he used to tie up the thief on the ground tightly, and then he socked the back of Dirk's head sharply, knocking him out without a sound.

"There we go, he shouldn't be able to to move now." Stepping off, Dolroth dusted his hands and reached inside his side pocket. From inside, he withdrew a small corked bottle containing what appears to be water and tossed it over to Luso. "Here, you drink this. It'll help those wounds you have."

"What is it?" He held the bottle up against the sun, examining the translucent liquid.

"A potion, naturally." The hunter wore a confused expression, "You're telling me you've never seen one before?"

"Nope." Luso shrugged, he could feel his ignorance about this world resurfacing up once again.

"You're an odd one." Dolroth shrugged along with him. He walked over and uncorked the bottle in Luso's hands. A strange smell began to emanate from inside the bottle, a combination of both sweet and bitter scents. "A potion is a commonplace philtre that can help you recover from your wounds in a pinch. Quite a useful drink, if I say so myself."

"Really? That's pretty amazing!" Luso eyed the bottle with wide eyes, surprised that it would have such amazing qualities; it looked exactly like water, after all.

"Yep, it's a magickal thing. So why don't you drink it already?"

"Oh right. Bottoms up!" He lifted the bottle up to his mouth and drank deeply. Instantly, he coughed and sputtered. "Gah! This thing tastes horrible!"

"Of course." Dolroth stated rather humorously. "You wouldn't expect such a miraculous invention to be completely perfect, would you?"

"Gack...I guess medicines just aren't supposed to taste good..." Luso coughed and gave the bottle back to him. While doing so, he noticed that the wound on his arm was nearly gone. The only traces left was a few bloodstains and a small white line that was slowly disappearing. He reached up and felt his face. His bruises were appearing to recede back into his skin and the cut on his forehead had completely disappeared.

"Ms. Midori!" Luso and Dolroth both turned around, three of the other green mages were all running towards them.

"Oh thank Njrg!" The viera–Midori–embraced her friends. Together, they all began to cry tears of relief. "You're all safe!"

"Ms, Midori, you're harmed!" One of them produced a handkerchief and began to wipe the blood off her face. The other two vieras pulled out bandages and bottles of potions, which Midori tried to refuse, to no avail. Dolroth and Luso both began to laugh at this scene. One of the girls broke away from the huddle and pointed at the laughing hunter.

"Hey! Aren't you one of them?" She said, pointing to the thief on the ground, "I remember you. You were the one that tied up Ms. Midori!"

"Eh...um..." Dolroth quickly stood up, oddly flushed in the face. He held his hands out as if he was trying to push something away. The three vieras advanced on him, murder was written all over their faces.

"Quick! Get him!" The three rabbit–eared women pounced. Knocking Dolroth to the ground and trying to pummel him into submission. Oddly, Dolroth had a rather silly smile on his face as this was going on.

"This is heaven!"

* * *

"I see you've managed to...capture that wolf."

"Aye, took us a while. But we managed to corner the beast."

"It'll be dinner tonight, I can't wait!"

"Only you would be so crass as to eat a live wolf."

Cid instantly stood between Edyal and Lynd, averting potential danger. He took the unconscious wolf off Lynd's shoulder and set it beside the tied up moogle on the ground. The moogle's eyes widened at the sight of his defeated pet.

"H–how did you manage to knock out my specially trained wolf – kupo?" He stammered nervously. Cid scratched his head and pointed over to Lynd.

"Lynd did most of it." Cid pushed Lynd and Edyal away, both still glaring daggers at each other. "He remembered the wolf had a dislocated jaw, and purposely let it try and bite him."

"D–dislocated jaw?!" The moogle craned it's small neck over to try and examine the wolf's jaw. Indeed, the jaw was off–center, giving it a strange asymmetrical look to it. "How – kupo?!"

Cid raised up his large fist, "You weren't watching? Pity. I thought you would've cared more for your precious pet. At least you were intelligent enough not to coat it's mouth with poison."

"Kuu..." Ereio fell silent. He hung his head, he was beaten and humiliated. Placing his fist back down, Cid looked up at the highroad. It's been a while since he and Lynd went into the forest to hunt the wolf, he was starting to becoming increasingly worried about Luso.

"Worried?" Edyal noticed the expression on Cid's face, "Do not worry, I believe that Luso is not such a weak boy. You of all people should know that."

"Haa...You've read my mind." Cid scratched the back of his head again, "I'm just thinking about how he is doing up there."

"You sound like a concerned father." Edyal laughed, "If you are that worried, why not just go up and check? We have everything under control down here, after all."

"Right, I'll do that then." He glanced up at the highroad again, picturing inside his head the scene that probably happened. A sudden image of a badly beaten Luso flashed across his imagination. Involuntarily, he gave a little shudder at the scene.

"Actually, Melanee." he turned back around to face the white mage behind him. "Why don't you come with me as well?"

* * *

"Forget getting me a potion. You need one more than I do." Luso said, surveying the aftermath of the beating that Dolroth received. After beating the hunter to a pulp, the three green mages had congregated in a corner and had begun to chant a strange prayer or incantation. Luso plunked down a bottle of potion that Midori left for him. As a sign of apology.

"It was worth it." The hunter said, pulling himself off the ground. His face was covered in bruises and his floppy yellow cap was slightly torn. His shirt and part of his collar was completely in tatters, giving him a haggard appearance. Despite that, his face was displaying an expression of rapture, a strange contrast to his, otherwise damaged look.

"How is being beat up by three angry women worth it in any way?" Luso replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Simple. You don't need a make up a reason to touch a woman." He said shamelessly. Checking the damage on his clothes, he decided that it wasn't too serious and stood up and dusted himself off. He took the potion and gulped it down. "Well, and I can also call this punishment for all I've done while sticking with this coward."

Taking a quick glance at the tied up thief, Luso briefly wondered if Dolroth was always discontent with him...or if it was because that women were involved this time. Inwardly, he bet on the latter. Luso shook his head, it wasn't his problem and he didn't want to bother with it.

"So what will you do now?" Luso asked.

"What do you mean?" The hunter grabbed Dirk on the ground by his ropes and hoisted him up over his shoulder. "I'm taking this guy back to Wood Village. He...we have a lot of apologizing to do."

He gave a small smile and reached inside his pocket. He took out a small chain necklace and let the sunlight glint off the shiny surface of the necklace.

"What's that?" Luso asked, looking at the small carrot–shaped necklace. Dolroth lowered it and held it out for Luso to see.

"It's a necklace that belonged to a girl that we had robbed." He said, his smile weakening, "I could never forgive myself for letting Dirk do such a thing."

"You don't have to beat yourself up for it. You did save that girl over there from Dirk this time, didn't you?" Luso reasoned, trying to cheer him up.

"Heh." Dolroth grinned, "I guess you're right."

He looked up at the sky. The previously burning sun was beginning to descend behind the dense forest canopies, spreading a blazing glow that tinted the sky and the stones on the highroad a brilliant orange. Day was ending, and night was approaching.

"Looks like the day's nearly over." Putting the necklace away, Dolroth turned around and began to walk towards the steps leading back down to Wood Village, "See you someday, Luso."

"Wait, wait! Why don't you join our clan?" Luso said, quickly putting his hand on the hunter's shoulder, stopping him. "I don't know much about my clan, but Cid told me that anyone could join if they wanted to."

"Haha, thanks for the offer." Dolroth said, turning his head around to look at the boy, "But no thanks. I've got my hands full right now. Besides, I might even be tossed in jail for what I've done while I was with these guys."

"But..."

"Maybe someday, Luso, maybe." He gave a small laugh and began to descend the steps...only to bump into a man who was walking up at the same time.

"Oof!" He lost his balance and dropped Dirk, who, amazingly, was still unconscious.

"Well now, who's this?" A deep voice said from above the hunter. Dolroth reacted quickly and grabbed his bow, already fitting an arrow on it. In response, the man swiftly swung his sword and severed the bowstring in half, rendering his weapon useless.

"Damn!" Dolroth cursed. He tossed aside his bow and attempted to tackle the man down the steps. But it was futile. The man was sturdy as an oak, and simply allowed Dolroth to bounce off his powerful chest and back onto his bottom.

"Dolroth!" Luso leaned over the top of the steps, looking down at them, "Are you okay?"

"Gah, who the hell is this?" He said, glaring up at the man. Luso walked down and extended a hand to help him up. Dolroth took it and assumed a defensive position as soon as he was back on his feet.

"Luso, friend of yours?" Cid asked, trying to prevent himself from chuckling at the guarding hunter. He resheathed his sword and stepped around the hunter. Behind him, Melanee breathlessly climbed up the stairs in his wake.

"You could say that." Luso leaned down and helped Melanee up the stairs. She mouthed a silent thanks and sat down on the steps, panting. Dolroth gave a grunt and covered his face with his hat. He picked up Dirk's comatose body and began to walk down the steps again.

"Hang on," Cid called down after him, "That's our mark you're carting off there, pal."

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to place your name down for you." Dolroth replied hastily, not stopping his descent. He appeared as if he didn't want to stay and talk, but he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He glanced down and placed his hand in his pocket. Taking out the necklace from earlier, he turned around and walked toward to the white mage sitting on the ground.

"Here, this is yours." He held out the necklace in front of her. Melanee's eyes widened at the sight of her stolen necklace and she quickly opened her hands to receive it.

"Yes! This is mine!" She said, holding it up against the setting sun, admiring the red carrot–like decoration that hung from it. "Did you get it back for me? Thank you so much!"

"It's no problem. Really." Dolroth said, still covering his face. Once again, he turned around and began to march down the steps, giving a hasty goodbye wave to Luso. Melanee was waving goodbye to his retreating back while Luso gave a small bemused smile and waved as well. Cid only scratched his head in confusion as he tried to make head or tails of the situation.

Giving up, Cid patted Luso on the shoulder and caught his attention. Cid flashed him a wide smile, "So, how was your second fight here in Ivalice?"

"It definitely could've gone much better," Stepping onto the highroad and picking up his fallen hat, Luso dusted it off and replaced it on his head. He took out his sword and inspected the blade. With a despondent sigh, he showed it to Cid. "Do you think there's any way to fix this?"

He took the sword from Luso's hands and scrutinized the rust that had practically eaten the blade from inside out. He took his hand and scratched the rust with his nail, peeling off several layers of the damaged metal.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Luso." He handed the sword back to him. "I know a couple of decent blacksmiths in Camoa who can fix that sword up to perfection. I'll take you to them once we reach town, okay?"

"All right!" Luso exclaimed happily, "How long will it take to reach...um...Camoa?"

Cid laughed and patted him on the head. He pointed out towards the horizon, above the leafy treetops of the forest. Squinting his eyes in the glare of the setting sun, Luso could see a long, winding road that stretched past the exit of the wood and into the grassy hills beyond.

"You see that road? That's the fastest path to Camoa." Cid said, "Aye, once we descend this highroad, we'll be on the fast track to the town, a day at most. If we hadn't used this road, it probably would've taken us around two or more days if we were to navigate the forest instead."

"I still haven't thanked you enough, Mr. Cid." Said Melanee, who stood up from her seat and joined their conversation. Her necklace was now hanging around her neck, the red jewel – like carrot was dangling outside her white robe, giving off a dull pink glow as it reflected the sun's rays.

She bowed low, letting her long ears droop over her head. Her white hair cascaded out of her hood and threatened to brush the ground. Cid only gave a smile and gently lifted her up from her bow.

"It's fine." He said, "You've already helped me enough earlier. If you hadn't removed that poison from my body, who knows what would've happened?"

"But...that was just..." She stammered, trying to justify her actions earlier as nothing special. Cid only closed his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Aye, it might be nothing special to you, but it's special to the people you cure." He said sagely, "We're a clan, and it's always something special to help each other. Whether if it is fighting, defending or healing. Everything done together as a clan is special."

"You sound like some sort of old mentor, like those in TV dramas or something like that." Luso remarked. Both Melanee and Cid shot him confused looks. Luso shrugged and quickly waved the issue aside. Looking around, Luso noticed the absence of two people in their party.

"Hey Cid?" He asked, "Where's Edyal and Lynd?"

"Oh, I left them down there to watch over the wolf and the animist that was controlling it." Cid walked over to the edge of the highroad and surveyed the area below. "It appears as though they are talking to that hunter friend of yours. Lynd in particular seems to be pretty upset."

Luso scrambled over to see what was going on. He could make out a few figures moving around down below him. That big figure–he assumed to be Lynd–seemed to be in an argument with a human–shaped figure, Dolroth.

"What are they doing?" Melanee queried, also curious about what was going on. "It sounds like they're arguing about something..."

"Your senses are sharper than mine are." Cid commented, watching Melanee try and discern the shapes, "Can you hear anything with those ears of yours?"

She perked her long, rabbit–like ears, trying to eavesdrop into their conversation. Luso glanced over at her skeptically. They were nearly three times the height at where Lynd and company are, can she really be able to hear anything from here?

"Aye, Luso. You've never heard about the senses of a viera?" Noticing Luso's expression, Cid began to speak, "Vieras are blessed with the gift of heightened senses. Moreso than a bangaa or a revgaji like me. A distance like this might be daunting to us, but to a viera; It might as well be the same as you standing next to her and talking."

"That's pretty amazing." Luso said, slightly awed. Melanee's face blushed slightly and her ears drooped down. Coughing, she covered her red face with her hood and restraightened her ears.

"Um...they seem to be talking about...dinner and delicacies..." She reported, "That hunter is trying to convince Mr. Lynd to let go of the wolf, saying that it isn't...a delicacy or something...and Ms. Edyal just said that Lynd is an idiot for trying to eat someone's pet...and now Lynd is yelling...really loudly."

Cid sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"I guess I better go round them up then. Wait for me, Luso, Melanee." Grudgingly, he marched down to settle yet another bangaa vs nu mou war. Luso and Melanee both sat down on the steps, following his instructions. Feeling slightly uncomfortable with all the dried blood on his body, Luso began to roughly scrape it off with his clothes.

"Oh, don't do that. You'll hurt yourself." Melanee reached inside her robe pocket and withdrew a canteen of water and a small cloth, "Here, let me do it."

She dampened the cloth and began to use it to wipe off the gunk and grime off his face and arms. Wringing out the now–dirty cloth, Melanee washed it off with the rest of the water and returned it to her pocket.

"There, all better."

"Thanks Melanee, I appreciate it." She smiled and went back to fiddling with her necklace. Luso wiped off a little bit of blood that avoided her scouring. Feeling slightly exhausted, he lied back on the ground and looked up at the sky.

_It's been two days already, huh? _He thought, _I really don't know what's going to happen now. What is auntie thinking right now? Is she worried that I've been gone for two days?...heh. I would like to see her expression if she saw me like this right now._

Smiling despite himself, Luso lifted his arm and stared at the small, faint white line that marked where his wound once was. He thought back to all the fights he's been in for the last two days. From fighting a gigantic chicken to dueling with a cruel thief.

_I've been taking this pretty easily, haven't I? _He mused to himself, _I never expected anything like this to happen, all from scribbling in that book. What was it anyway? Edyal said something about magick books and the like...but why was one lying around inside the school library?_

_Maybe I'm thinking too much...my head hurts._ Luso sat up and took off his hat. He took his hands and wildly ran them through his hair, messing it up. Sighing contentedly, Luso lied back down and used his hat as a pillow. The slow, rhythmic chanting that the rescued green mages were speaking was beginning to make Luso drowsy. He closed his eyes and began to breathe calmly.

_Cid might take a while to get everyone ready to go. Maybe I can get a few minutes of sleep before he comes...back..._

Melanee looked up from her necklace. She glanced towards Luso, wanting to say something. But she closed her mouth. He looked peaceful, sleeping on the ground like that. Almost as if he had always belonged there.

* * *

**A/N: **This chapter took me a while, don't know why, and don't want to know why. In any case, they're finally out of Targ and heading to Camoa. On to more adventures! Go forth, Clan...that still has no name!

**Character Notes:**Every few chapters, I'll release a small dossier on one character. You may request which character you wish to see in the next dossier.

**Name: ****Luso**

**Age: 15-16 (Just turned)**

**Job: Bare/None**

**Notable Skills: Surprisingly good reflexes and equally surprising decent strength, but nothing really much to be considered notable.**

**Posessions: A cheap ring-binder notebook and pen.**

**Equipment:**

** -****Short Sword (Wrecked)  
**

** -****Nothing**

** -****Leather Clothes  
**

** -****Cloth Hat  
**

** -****Battle Boots  
**


	8. Chocobo Corral

**The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2**

* * *

**Chapter 7:** "Chocobo Corral"

Hidden far, far away, in an area secretly tucked away from the bright light of sunlight. A monastery where darkness reigns, pervading every corner, niche, and cranny. A long hall, stretched across inside the church, with unlit torches lining the stone walls, as if it was being mocked by the darkness. A feeling of stagnation hung in the air, thickness, breathlessness. A choking atmosphere.

A loud noise rent the silent air. The sound of creaking wood echoed off the walls, traveling down the hallway like a rebounding pinball. The sound of footsteps joined the din, creating small tapping sounds as it moved through the hallway.

In the darkness, the silhouette of a man could be seen. Framed by the moonlight outside, his face was masked by multiple strands of thick, black material, giving him the appearance of one who was melting into the darkness itself. His clothes were made of the same material of his mask, although with multiple holsters and pockets were sewn into the material. Each of the pockets were adorned with various kinds of weaponry, from simple blades to long, cruel–looking needles. In his arms, he carried a large package that was wrapped in an exorbitant amount of fabric, and bound with a large belt. In this cold atmosphere, it shivered slightly.

The unlit torches flared up with a brilliant blue flame as the man walked past them. Surrounding the hall in a blue light, the cracked tiled floor and worn walls became evident. This was a place that was abandoned, and presumably for a long time as well. Undeterred, the man kept walking, allowing more of the torches to light up his path.

At the end of the hall was an ornately designed double–door. Contrasting with the dilapidated stonework around it, the door appeared to be brand new. Swirling carvings covered the surface of the wood. The man placed his spare hand against the carvings. Instantly, a bright cobalt glow filled the grooves like water filling a river. In an instant, the glow dissipated as fast as it appeared. The door creaked open by it's own accord, allowing the man to enter.

"I have returned." He stepped into the room. It was a large, cavernous room. Not unlike the kind you would find in a chapel. The blue torches from the hallway continued onto the dilapidated walls of the room. The ceiling was missing, allowing moonlight to stream down from the night sky and bathe the room with light. Rows and rows of broken chairs, tables, and other assorted furniture were strewn all over the floor. One chair was standing up in the middle of the room, facing the entrance.

"I hope you have good news to tell." A voice emanated from the chair. Slowly, the faint outline of a human became visible. The man bowed low and tossed his package in front of him. It made a faint sound as it hit the ground.

"I have not one, but two pieces of information to report." The man said, lifting his head. The visage woman now clearly sat on the chair. As if complimenting the blue glow from the torches around them, her hair was a brilliant cobalt. Her face could be called an unearthly beauty, but that was it. She was a beauty, yet her expression showed no warmth.

The woman flicked her quill into the air and it vanished in a small puff of smoke. A large, hardcover tome was lying open on her lap. Picking up her book in one arm, she stood up and faced the masked man. Nodding her head, she bid him to continue.

"One, the man that was suspected of being a mole have been caught this morn." He punctuated his words by kicking the bundle on the ground. The woman turned her head slightly, glancing at the quivering mass, her face showed no emotion. "Second. Our eyes have confirmed the...existence of a certain traitor."

"Oh?" she said, her face registering an expression of interest, "What becomes of our little friend?"

"The man has been in hiding. Biding his time as his wounds were healing."

"But for what reason would our friend think of revealing himself? Surely, he would know that our eyes exist everywhere in Jylland."

The man closed his eyes, thinking, "He was careless. He apparently believes that traveling with companions will protect him from being targeted."

"A clan. The fool has formed a clan, has he?" The woman tossed her head up and laughed. The sound of the cruel laugh echoed through the large room. "Prolonging the inevitable, how amusing."

She turned around and faced the back wall. A massive stone mural, weathered and damaged by the passing of time, adorned the entire surface of the wall. The carving depicted a myriad of scenes, a brutal war, the execution of a man, and a enormous hand clawing out of the void itself. Needless to say, it was a very disturbing piece of art.

"No matter. Our friend's desperate attempts to cling to his worthless life is of no importance to our goal." She stated, an eerie smile creeping onto her face. "But..."

The blue haired woman turned back around and slowly walked towards the bundle on the ground. Standing over the cloth bundle, she held out her hand. A flash of purple emitted from her palm. In the space between her palm and the air, a long, jeweled sword had materialized from out of nothing. Moonlight reflected off the beautiful sword, scattering thin rays of light all around the two people.

"...we cannot let anyone that knows about us..."

Slowly, she tilted the sword downwards until the sharp point of the blade was directed towards the tied up bundle on the ground.

"..._exist_."

* * *

"...wake up..."

_Just five more minutes..._ Luso grumbled and pulled the blanket over his head. It was the summer, and he was determined to sleep in every day. Who needs to wake up early? School's out, and there's no need to be yelled at every morning to get up and get dressed!

_So just leave me alone..._

"It's morning, time to get up." The voice said sharply. Luso ignored it and wormed deeper into the blanket. "Luso, wake up."

_Let me sleep, I'm tired. What time is it anyway?_

"You gave me no choice, Luso." The voice sighed.

_You're giving me no choice either, I want to sleep not wake u-_

"OUCH!" He jolted up from his bed instantly, his blanket flying off the bed and fluttering onto the ground. He rubbed his head, a large angry bump was beginning to rise from underneath his hair. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he tried to cope with the pain.

"Good to see you're up." Cid said, rubbing his knuckles, "Get dressed, we've got business today."

"Eh? Cid?" Luso said, bewildered by what was going on. He took a look around at where he was sleeping at. It was a small, quaint little room, not unlike the kind you would find in a garden cottage. His clothes were hanging off the wall, apparently washed. As the bloodstains from yesterday were nowhere in sight. "What's going on? What happened?"

"Aye, I thought you might be a little confused." Cid said, taking Luso's clothes off the wall where it was hanging from, "You fell asleep while on the highroad yesterday, exhausted."

"O–oh." He could vaguely remember that. His muscles were slightly aching from the strenuous fight he had with that thief on the highroad. He glanced around the unfamiliar room again, and looked down at the soft bed where he was sleeping on, "But where are we?"

"Ohoho, that would be my bed you're sleeping in, sonny." The door to the room opened, and an old, wizened–looking bangaa sidled inside and stood next to the bed. The bangaa took his finger and flicked Luso's forehead, "You better be grateful, sonny. I had to sleep in the corral yesterday 'cause of you taking my sleeping quarters."

"Oh, uh...thanks?" Luso replied, still confused at the events unfolding in front of him. Cid chuckled and tossed Luso's clothes onto the bed.

"This is Sasasha, a local chocobo breeder and owner of this corral." He explained, pointing out the window. "We made a pit stop here after we crossed the highroad. Sasasha was kind enough to give us shelter after night fell."

"Oho, there's no way I can refuse the people who drove those dreadful thieves away from the highroad." He cackled, waving his arms around madly, "Bad for business! Nobody from the village was coming and renting my chocobos! And when I tried to go up the highroad to find the reason why nobody from Wood is passin' through, those brigands sicced a wolf on me! Good thing ol' Boko was there to protect me, yessiree. Good ol' Boko, never had a more loyal chocobo in my 70 years of breeding, you know. It definitely must be the feed I've been giving..."

"Anyways," Cid interrupted, cutting across the old bangaa's seemingly unending speech, "Everyone else is already awake. For the rest of the way to Camoa, we'll be riding chocobos. So get dressed."

"That's fine," Luso replied, pulling on his boots, "But can I ask a question?"

"What is it?"

"What's a chocobo?"

* * *

Melanee strolled across the grassy field with her hood down. She was enjoying the bright sunny sky and the breezy morning wind. In the distance, she could see several chocobos lazing around the small lake. She walked over and sat down next to one of the large yellow birds.

"Hello there, how are you doing today?" She said, delicately brushing the bird's feathers with her hands. The chocobo cooed and lifted one of it's wings. The viera giggled and began to scratch the bird's soft down feathers, eliciting a happy chirp from the chocobo.

"You are good with animals, aren't you?" Melanee turned around and saw Edyal walking across the grass toward her. Taking a seat next to the viera, Edyal took out a thick, reddish vegetable and placed it in front of the chocobo. Instantly, the bird began to peck at it hungrily.

"Ms. Edyal, good morning." Melanee said, bowing her head slightly.

"And a good morning to you too." Edyal replied, using her staff to nudge the viera's chin up. "The weather's quite kind to us today. Don't you think?"

Melanee nodded and plucked a blade of grass from the ground. She lifted it up high into the air. The balmy wind, as if following her commands, blew across the field and caught the little piece of grass and carried it away.

The chocobo had finished eating his meal. A sudden glint of red caught the large bird's eye. It stretched it's head over to Melanee, where it began to lightly peck at her necklace.

"Oh?" Edyal said, watching Melanee try and push the bird's beak away. "I have not seen that necklace on you before. It's quite a pretty thing, I must say."

"Y–yes!" Melanee said, facing Edyal and showing a very happy expression, "This was given to me by my older sister before she left. It's really important to me!"

She glanced downwards, her happy face fading slightly, "I–I was so depressed when I had it stolen from me by those thieves. I thought I would never get it back." She fidgeted with the little red crystal.

"But you got it back in the end, didn't you?"

"Yes! And I can't thank you all enough for helping me..." Melanee's happy expression returned, "And that hunter too. He was the one who returned it to me yesterday, I must remember to thank him again if we meet again."

Edyal recalled the hunter who had argued with Lynd the day before. The hunter had freely admitted to helping the thief and the animist in controlling the highroad, and was repentant in his actions. The only favor he had asked of them was to not tell the viera–Melanee–that he had a part in stealing from her. Edyal decided to honor his wish.

"I suppose. He was a pretty...decent person."

Melanee clapped her hands together and smiled, "I believe he is, Ms. Edyal."

"No more of this mister or missus business Melanee," Edyal replied, tapping the viera on the head lightly with her staff "We are a clan, there is no need for formalities between clan members."

"I'm sorry," She replied, rubbing the spot between her two ears, "It's a habit I've picked up from working with Dr. Ocktor."

"I understand." Edyal nodded, "But you are with us now. Our clan, and your new family. So you can just refer to me as Edyal, okay?"

"Okay, mis...Edyal." Melanee gave a small smile and hugged the nu mou, who embraced her back. As they separated, three more chocobos had appeared. Each looking at the nu mou hungrily. Edyal stood up and reached inside her robes and took out more of the vegetables.

"I've got more here, don't crowd." She said, placing the thick, rootlike vegetables in front of each bird. The chocobos pounced on the food and began to devour each of the vegetables. Edyal patted the one closest to her and commented, "My, you are all quite hungry. That Sasasha should have been feeding you by now, hm?"

"I think he was going to talk to Mr...um, Cid earlier." Melanee said, "Something about renting chocobos."

"Right, Cid is going to rent chocobos for us." She stared up at the road stretching into the fields beyond, "I would not fancy walking all the way to Camoa, personally."

"It's more fun to ride chocobos, isn't it?" Melanee said, looking at the large birds with anticipation showing on her face.

"Aye, and riding chocobos would halve the time needed to reach the town as well. Chocobos are well–renowned for their speed."

Three more people had joined in their midst. Cid pointed at the chocobo sitting next to Melanee, and said to Luso, "Now, that is a chocobo. Flightless birds, great strength, and faster than anything short of an airship."

"Wow!" Luso said as he cautiously inched near the bird, "They're huge!"

"Don't worry, sonny." Sasasha cackled at his hesitation, "They're all well trained! I wouldn't allow my chocobos to peck any potential customers! Now, if you're a thief on the other hand..."

"Ah, Cid." Edyal said, standing up. "I see you have woken the boy up. Are we departing now?"

"Aye, once we find Lynd." Cid replied, scanning the perimeter for any sign of their bangaa companion, "Where could he be?"

"Um... I last saw him walking around the edge of the forest." Melanee recounted, "He was mumbling something about finding provisions..."

"I see." Cid groaned and hid his face behind his hand. "I'll go fetch him then. There's no need to hunt when we're this close to Camoa."

He walked over to the edge of the river and leapt over it with one strong bound. He turned backwards and hollered, "Luso, why don't you help Sasasha harness the chocobos? Give you a little musclework to wake you up."

"A–okay!" Luso threw a quick salute, "You can count on me!"

"You sound quite energetic, aren't ya sonny?" Sasasha strode over to the back wall of his cabin and opened the door to a storage shed. "I like that. Good ol' young'un energy is never a bad thing to have around, gimme a hand with these, will'ya?"

With a strength unfitting of his old age, Sasasha hoisted out five huge leather saddles from inside the shed. Mouthing a single word–catch!–the old bangaa hurled all of the saddles towards the unsuspecting boy.

"Wha-?!" Luso's yell was quickly muffled by a mass of leather. The weight of the flying saddles knocked him off his feet and onto the ground.

"Luso!" Melanee quickly rushed over to pull off the heavy saddles off him. Edyal silently chuckled to herself as she walked over to help as well.

"Aagh...I'm sorry auntie...please forgive meee..." Luso said, his thoughts greatly disoriented by the impact. He groped around, trying to find some kind of handhold to pull himself up, but only succeeded in making himself look like some sort of flipped over turtle with a shell made of leather.

"Ach, I thought you'd be sturdier than that sonny!" Sasasha said, plucking one of the heavy saddles off the boy. Melanee struggled to pull one of them off, but only managed to budge it slightly. Sasasha clicked his tongue and pushed it off effortlessly. "Leave the heavy work to me pretty lassie, 'lest you hurt yourself strainin' like that."

Melanee obliged and stood back, watching the old bangaa remove the saddles with ease. Luso, freed from his leather prison, stood up and wobbled around dazedly. The chocobos standing around viewed the staggering boy with interest.

Luso shook his head to reorient himself. Once his vision stopped spinning, he approached the pile of leather saddles and spat on both of his palms. Rubbing his saliva together, he wrapped his hands around one of them and lifted with all his might.

"Yeeeargh! This is heavy!" He said, barely lifting it an inch off the ground. He gritted his teeth and tried to focus most of his strength into his arms, but it only resulted in him lifting the saddle higher by a centimeter.

"Luso, don't strain yourself!" Melanee shouted, "You'll hurt yourself if you overwork your muscles!"

"H–ha!" Luso replied, making a tough smile, "I c–can handle this, no s–sweat!"

As if proving his point, he swung his arms around and hefted the saddle up higher. A chocobo had prodded over next to Luso, curious.

"There!" Luso shouted. He took the saddle and lifted it up all the way to level with the chocobo's back. With a grunt of exertion, Luso dropped the heavy saddle on the chocobo. It squawked at the sudden weight and kicked Luso in response. "Oof!"

"Oh yeah, I should'a warned you." Sasasha said. He grabbed the kicking bird and hastily shoved a vegetable down it's throat. Placated, the bird settled down and allowed Sasasha to reposition the saddle on it's back. "The chocobos don' like it when you just drop the saddles on 'em. It spooks 'em, you see."

"C–could've warned m–me earlier..." Luso coughed and painfully sat up from the ground. A large purple bruise had formed on his chest. Feeling an acute sense of deja vu, Luso mentally made a note to be more careful around large poultry. Edyal sighed and helped him up to his feet.

"You are a magnet for injuries, Luso." She commented, tapping his bruise and making him wince slightly, "It would be in my and Cid's best interest if you would be a little bit more cautious."

"R–right..I'm sorry." Luso said, scratching his head sheepishly. The nu mou shook her head and sighed again.

"Melanee, will you please fix him up?" She said, facing the viera. "You may use my staff for now."

"Okay." Melanee accepted the wooden staff and faced the boy. "Hold still Luso, this will only take a minute."

"Ach, just leave the rest to me then sonny." Sasasha said while attaching several belts on the chocobo. "You might have the energy, but you jus' don't have the strength."

"But..."

"Be patient." He cut across Luso's words, "Yer still young. Give it time and yer strength will grow, sonny."

He fastened the last buckle and patted the chocobo on the back. Following on that, he picked up another saddle and headed towards the next chocobo.

_'My strength will grow' huh?_ Luso thought as he watched the old bangaa fasten a saddle on another chocobo._ I should ask Cid, maybe he can train me again. Getting stronger doesn't sound like a ad idea at this point._

Nodding to himself, he mentally resolved to ask Cid for more lessons when he returns. In the meantime, Melanee completed her incantation and swung Edyal's staff in a wide arc. A white glow trailing from the tip, the staff conjured up two small white orbs that swirled up into the air in a helix formation. Luso stared at the two dancing lights, mesmerized by it's spiraling motion.

"_Cure!_" Like a conductor in an orchestra, Melanee whipped the staff forwards at the boy. Instantly, the two orbs halted their ascent. After a moment's pause, the glowing orbs flew straight at Luso, going straight into his chest.

Instinctively, he flinched. But what he felt wasn't pain, but instead, a warm feeling spread out from his chest and filled his body. Looking down, he saw that his bruise had vanished.

"Whoa!" He patted his chest. There was no pain to be felt, it was all gone. He pushed himself up from the ground with surprising energy and checked himself over. Enthusiastically, he began to jog in place with his newfound strength, knocking his hat off in the process. "This is great! I've never felt this good before! It's like a potion, except better!"

"You sound like you've never had a Cure spell casted on you before Luso." Melanee giggled at the boy's antics. Luso picked up his hat and began to twirl it on his index finger.

"A Cure spell? I've never had one of those before, well... until now anyway." He tried to flick his hat off his finger and onto his head. He missed and it fell onto the ground again. Sheepishly, he bent down to pick it up.

"Are you serious?" Melanee asked, bewildered, "I've never met someone who hasn't even heard of a Cure spell before."

"I'm serious." Luso said, dusting off his hat, "I've never seen anything like that before."

Melanee edged toward Edyal for an explanation. The nu mou just shrugged and patted Melanee on the shoulder.

"Luso is...special, in a way." She said, "To put it simply. He does not know much about Magick, or most of Ivalice for that matter."

"How can that be?" Melanee said, watching the boy try and lift another one of the saddles until he was relieved by Sasasha again. "Isn't it strange for someone as old as Luso to have not even heard of simple White Magick?"

"I agree with you." Edyal nodded, "But as I have said before. He is a special circumstance. I suggest you do not dwell upon his oddness for too long."

"Hn..." The viera simply tilted her head in bewilderment. She continued to watch Luso and Sasasha affix the saddles on the chocobos until a sudden voice had called from the other side of the river.

"Hooy! I found him!" Cid came out of the forest, a despondent Lynd in tow. In his hands appeared to be a small furry object. With a tug, he pulled Lynd and both of them walked towards the river.

"What's wrong with Lynd, Cid?" Melanee asked, watching the unresponsive bangaa get dragged through the river. Cid pointed at the small furry lump in his arms.

"I caught him trying to hunt this dreamhare." Cid explained, propping up the small lump to let Melanee get a better view of it. It was a small, almost spherical rabbit creature. A large pom–pom dominated most of it's backside, giving it the look of a particularly adorable bunny attached to a ball of cotton candy.

"Dreamhare meat is known for being delicious in Loar!" Lynd argued, trying to reach for the rabbit in Cid's arms. He simply lifted it higher up and out of his reach.

"Aye, it might be." Cid said, pushing Lynd's prying arms away, "However, we are not going to eat any sort of animals in the wild when we are nearly to a town!"

"Then it'll be provisions that we can keep on our next travel!"

"No means no, Lynd! Now quit trying to catch animals and go help the rancher saddle up the chocobos!"

Grumbling, Lynd glanced at the furry rabbit one more time and walked over to Sasasha and Luso. Cid sighed in relief and put the rabbit down. Instantly, it perked up and shook it's fluffy tail wildly. Giving a small, but shrill cry, it jumped up unbelievably high and smacked Cid over the head with it's furry tail.

"Agh!" Cid reeled from the sudden attack. As he tried to stabilize himself, the rabbit quickly bounced away and cleared the river with a single bound. It turned backwards and cried again before disappearing into the forest.

"Looks like that dreamhare is thankful for your help." Edyal commented sardonically. Cid rubbed his head, it hurt a lot more than he expected.

"Aye, I'm sure it's very grateful for my assistance." Cid smiled wryly at his misfortune. He turned around and faced Edyal. "Are the chocobos ready for riding yet?"

Edyal simply pointed towards the three working people behind her. Five chocobos were saddled up and ready to go. Sasasha took several reins and placed them into the beaks of the birds. He used the reins to pull the five chocobos over to the group.

"They're all saddled and reined Cid," Sasasha said, "You'll be ridin' them to Camoa, right?"

"That is so, how much is it then?" Cid replied, pulling out his gil pouch. Sasasha waved it away, instead handing him the reins to the birds instead.

"I can't take yer gil," He said, "You saved my business by getting rid of them thieves on the highroad! This ride's on the house."

"Thank you for your generosity, Sasasha." Sasasha grinned and handed Cid the reins. The revgaji separated the reins and handed them to Edyal and Melanee. Luso and Lynd were already riding their chocobos.

"Aye, then." Cid patted his chocobo on the saddle, "Let's ride to Camoa."

* * *

**A/N: **Between constant bouts of writer's block and headaches and LOSING THE DOCUMENT FILE REPEATEDLY. I can now definitely say that this was the most annoying chapter to write. Pity.


	9. The Town of Adventures

**The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2**

* * *

**Chapter 8: **"The Town of Adventures"

"Same as usual?"

"Maybe something with a little more pep, if you would."

"Coming right up then missie."

The bartender took out a glass mug from under the counter and filled it up with a cloudy bluish liquid. With a flourish, he set it down in front of the girl. She didn't drink it, but instead swirled the contents inside it lazily.

"Something the matter?" The bartender asked, a little worried about his patron. The girl flicked her long, silvery hair back and sighed. She waved her hand in the air as if to wave his question away.

"Nothing, it's nothing." She sighed again and drank deeply from the mug.

_It's sweet, _She thought as she swallowed more of the beverage, _Too bad I don't feel sweet today._

Feeling more depressed, the girl put down the mug and laid her head onto the counter. A rebellious strand of her hair flitted down onto her nose, tickling it. She sneezed and nearly spilled her drink on herself. Standing up, she brushed away the irritating strand and frowned angrily.

"Aaaargh!" She yelled out suddenly, releasing her pent up frustration. "I'm so angry!"

The girl thought back to everything that had happened to her since the morning began. After spending her entire day yesterday trying to hunt for a rare loot, it ended up being nothing more than a false lead. And to make things worse, the pair of shoes that she wanted to buy with the loot had sold out during her search. Needless to say, she was very frustrated when she went to bed.

"I've never had such a bad day in my entire life..." The silver haired girl lamented as she slumped onto the counter of the bar.

"Say, have you ever heard of this saying before?" The barman said in a kind voice, "When you're at rock bottom, the only path left is up."

"Ha." The girl raised her head slightly to face the turbaned barman, "I'd like to meet whoever made that saying. I would make him repay me for all the time I lost yesterday."

The barman could only give a small smile as the girl finished off her drink and left a few coins on the counter as she walked out of the bar.

Walking outside into the streets of the town, the girl looked up to the sky and thought to herself.

_The only path is up huh? Heh, it's not like me to mope like this at all. If I have time to feel sorry for myself, then I have time to make up what I did wrong yesterday._

She flung her hair back and began to walk down the street.

* * *

"There it is. The Town of Adventures, Camoa!" Cid shouted, pointing ahead of him.

Straining his eyes against the billowing wind, Luso leaned out from behind his chocobo and followed the revgaji's pointing finger. A large sprawling town, made completely out of stone had risen from the hills in front of them.

"Wow!" He exclaimed as he saw the sprawling town rise from in front of him, "That's Camoa? It's huge!"

As they rode past the two large stone pillars that designated the town boundaries, the group stopped in the middle of the crowded town streets. Enthusiastically, Luso leapt off his chocobo and looked around him. There were people everywhere, completely unlike the small and quaint Wood Village. Street vendors had stalls set up outside buildings and peddling weapons or accessories. A few chocobos could be seen roaming the streets, carrying luggage for people.

But what was the most amazing to Luso was the sheer amount of different races he saw. While in Wood Village, all he saw was humes like him, and maybe a nu mou or two. But here in Camoa, he could see multitudes of different races. From large, muscular bangaas to small, fuzzy little moogles flying through the air.

"Camoa is the largest settlement in the continent of Loar." Edyal explained, struggling slightly to dismount her chocobo. "Naturally, races of all kinds flock to this town in search of adventures. Which, I might also add, is the also origin of the nickname, 'Town of Adventures.'"

"Which is also the reason we've came here." Added Lynd, "Targ doesn't give much in the way of questing and rewards. Aahh, I can't wait to see what kinds of hunts we'll find here in Camoa."

"Aye, and perhaps some better work as well." Cid went over and helped Edyal off her chocobo. He turned towards Melanee, who had gingerly dismounted her own chocobo, "You're going to go and look for that medicine for the doctor, right?"

"Yes. He had written directions for me here...um..." She fumbled around her robe pockets, pulling them all inside out. Her expression quickly darkening, she began to panic and nearly took off her entire robe until Edyal had stopped her. "It's not here! I don't have it with me! I must've dropped it!"

Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground, tears welling up in her eyes. Edyal gave her a hug and patted her on the back while Cid, Lynd, and Luso scanned the ground around them. Other than a few pieces of litter and various town–related debris, there was nothing that remotely resembled a slip of paper. Curious onlookers were beginning to form around them, wondering what was going on.

"Hrm... let's head over to the pub and get our bearings straight first." Cid took the reins of the chocobos and began walking down the street, "Come on, before we get even more gawkers."

* * *

After safely tying up the chocobos outside, the group had entered the local pub. A loud, jubliant atmosphere welcomed them inside. As far as the eye can see, people of all kinds were seated inside the pub, the complete opposite of Wood Village's bar. A group of black mages were sitting in the corner, darkly discussing some sort of newly devised arcane magick while bangaa warriors and human fighters were having a mock exhibition duel in the center of the bar, and there were even several vieras dancing and singing on a makeshift stage made from a couple long tables.

Finding them a quiet spot in the far corner of the pub, away from the raucous yells and cheers, Cid sat the sniffling Melanee down at a table. Edyal and Luso both sat down next to her while Lynd eyed the fighting exhibition.

"So." Cid said, sitting down himself, "That slip of paper that the good doctor had written for you is missing?"

"Y–yes..." She said in a broken voice, "I can't believe I messed up like this..."

Shaking his head, Cid replied, "You don't have to worry. I have a certain contact in this town that can probably help you. A streetear that hears many things."

Hearing that, Lynd turned around and said, "A streetear? Knowing those types of people, you'll be paying through your nose for a sliver of information, Cid."

"Thanks for the warning, but this specific streetear is an acquaintance of mine." Cid said, "I don't think he'd try to rob me if all I'm asking for is the location of a certain medicine ingredient."

"You're the boss, now if you wouldn't mind..." Lynd pointed at the brawl in the middle of the bar. Cid sighed and waved his hand, allowing Lynd to go and join in the festivities. Shaking her head, Edyal muttered underneath her breath while Luso laughed at the bangaa's enthusiasm.

"Oh, right. Luso." Cid called the boy's attention towards him, "Your sword was destroyed yesterday, right?"

"Yeah. It's all rusted and filled with holes." Luso said, with a tinge of anger in his voice. Cid reached into his pocked and withdrew a small leather pouch. He tossed it to Luso. It made a small jingling sound as he shook it in his hands.

"There's about three hundred gil in that pouch." Cid pointed at the small pouch, "I've written directions to the local blacksmith here inside it. Use that money and ask him to fix your sword. Or just buy a new one, it's your decision."

"Seriously?" Luso said incredulously, "Thanks Cid!"

"Think of it as a gift in commemoration of your first duel." He laughed and patted the boy on the head. Luso smiled and quickly stood up. He eagerly stuck the gil pouch in his side pocket.

"Then I'll be going now!" He said, already beginning to head towards the exit, "I'll be back really fast, don't worry!"

"Aye, stay out of trouble then. And watch out for thieves!" Cid called towards his retreating back. Seeing this scene, Edyal laughed to herself. "What's funny?"

"Oh, it is nothing." Edyal said, taking off her large straw hat, "I am just amused at how much you treat the boy like a son."

* * *

"Okay, so let's see..." Luso pulled out the small, handwritten slip of paper that Cid had stuck inside the gil pouch, "Take a left...no, a right? Wait..."

Walking around town, Luso tried to make heads or tails of where he was currently. Cid's note had a small, crude map drawn on the back, but even that wasn't helping his current situation. He considered asking someone on the street to help point him in the correct decision.

_No! _He argued to himself, _I can do this. I can find that blacksmith by myself, bad directions or not!_

Pumping his fists, he read the note again. "When you see a staircase heading down into the lowtown, go down and head towards the right...oh, that must be the stairs!" He glanced over to the large staircase between two buildings. A large sign hung overhead, with the words 'Lowtown' painted on it.

Silently cheering, Luso pushed past a pair of vieras and went down the stairs. Once he was down there, a he stood in front of a large iron gate. He pushed the gate open and squeezed inside. There, a large spectacle awaited him.

"Whoa!" He said, amazed, "This is all underneath the town?"

He was standing in the middle of what could be described as another town. A mazelike structure, with windows and doors jutting out of the walls haphazardly. A large glistening pool of water was in the middle of the underground town. Kids of all races were splashing inside the pool, playing and gambooling for fun. For a split second, Luso felt like joining them.

He shook his head to get the thought out of his head, "I have to get this sword fixed first! I'll play later." He put his hand in his pocket and fingered the bulky leather pouch to reinforce his resolve.

He turned around and began to walk towards the right. He kept his eyes on the signs sticking out of the walls. An accessory shop...a magick store...technicks...

"Where's the blacksmith?" He asked aloud.

"If you're looking for the weapons store. It's behind you, to the left." Came an unexpected reply, "You've been going the wrong way."

He turned around to see who it was. It was a hume girl, probably no older than Luso was. The girl was dressed in a simple pink top, and short pants that was complimented with a skirt made of some sort of transparent material.

On her head, a large bow lied on top of her shiny silver hair. It resembled a pair of ears that one would find on a cat. Looking down, Luso noticed that she was wearing an exceptionally long belt, which was hanging loose behind her, giving her what could be described as a makeshift cat's tail.

_She looks like my old housecat..._ Luso mused to himself, thinking back to the cat that he once took care of until his Auntie found out.

"Don't you know it's rude to gawk?" Her yellow eyes flashed with slight irritation. Luso quickly returned his vision to her face.

"Oh, um...sorry." He apologized quickly. Scratching his head, he felt slightly flustered for some reason, "Thanks for your help."

The girl sighed and began to swing a small pouch by it's string. "You should be careful. You never know when someone might just come up and steal your belongings."

"Ahaha...thanks for your advice." Luso said, laughing embarrassedly for no reason. The girl smiled and turned around. She lifted a hand and waved goodbye.

"See you around, maybe." With that, she walked off and disappeared into the crowd. Leaving Luso standing there and feeling awkward.

"I wonder who that was...?" He said, "Oh well... at least I know where that blacksmith is now."

Feeling his enthusiasm returning, Luso turned around as well and began to head in the opposite way. His body feeling lighter, almost as if he had lost a few pounds of weight.

* * *

Streetears, a noble profession in the many towns around Jylland. Experienced gatherers of information that amass various snippets of gossip or fancy that passes by their sharp ears. For the right price, the all–knowing company of a streetear will tell you all you need to know.

And in the famous Town of Adventurers, there is no better streetear than the noble seeq that stands atop the tallest building in all of Camoa. For his words are always true, and always well informed. There has never been a time when this legendary streetear has ever failed a client!

"Aye, that's nice and all, but will you get down from there and greet one of your clients?"

"Wha–! Whoa!" Tumbling down from his high perch. The large pig–like braggart rolled down the sloped incline of the roof and skidded to a stop next to the revgaji's feet. Melanee poked her head out from behind Cid to peek at the strange person.

"'Lo Ribs, long time no see." Cid greeted.

"That voice..?!" With surprising agility, the rotund seeq jumped up from his ungainly position on the ground and faced the two. His snout twitched wildly as he grabbed onto Cid's hand, shaking it. "Master Cid! Why, how long as it been? One year? Two? Maybe even three?"

"Far too short for my likings," Pushing the streetear away, Cid coughed and moved aside. Melanee warily tiptoed out from behind the large revgaji.

"Aaahehehehaa!" The seeq snorted, "You've picked up a pretty one there, Master Cid. But don't you think she's a bit youn–?"

Cid shut the seeq's mouth by clamping a large hand over his head firmly. "I'm not here for small talk Ribs. And stop calling me 'Master.' I've forsook my dark past, and I have no interest in dredging it up again."

"Aaahehehehaa! but you'll always be Master Cid in my heart." Ribs snorted again, pushing the revgaji's hand off his head. Cid sighed and placed his palm over his face, shaking his head.

"I said...oh, nevermind. We'll be requiring your services, Ribs."

"Is that the reason behind this fateful meeting, Master Cid? And here I was hoping you'd take me to the pub and get a drink, for old time's sake!" Sniggering one more time, "I'm assuming what you want to ask is related to the girl, eh?"

"Sharp." Cid nodded. "Melanee, tell him your question."

"Um..." She fidgeted with the hem of her robe, "I'm...looking for a medicinal component...or at least, somewhere that sells it..."

Ribs snorted and crossed his stubby arms, "Speak up girlie, I might be a streetear, but even I don't like to strain to hear unless I really need to."

"Um..." She fell silent again at the seeq's forceful words. The seeq began to snigger at her reaction until he caught sight of Cid's angry glare. He quickly fell silent.

"All right, all right. I'm just jesting with you." Ribs quickly said, glancing over to Cid again, "What was that you said? A medicinal component? What kind? There's all sorts of them being sold all around Camoa."

"C–c..." Melanee's voice began to trail off again. She gestured for Cid to come closer. Cid bent down and Melanee whispered something into his ear.

"Cactus Fruit." Cid said, standing back up. "The component she's looking for is Cactus Fruit."

"Cactus Fruit...?" Ribs closed his eyes and began to think. "Hmm...I remember hearing several alchemists the other day talking about there being a surplus in Cactus Fruit down by the Apothecary. Some vieras were also chatting about Cactus Fruit being perfect for good skin, and some hume girlies were thinking of using them as an ingredient for a love potion. Then I also heard some bangaas say that the Fruit could be used as strengthening agents..."

"That's enough." Cid interrupted, "Thank you for your information Ribs. Let's go Melanee, I know where the Apothecary is."

"Hang on Master Cid!" Ribs grabbed a hold of the back of Cid's vest, "You're forgetting something very, very important."

"And that would be?"

"Payment, obviously!" Ribs grunted, "Don't think that just because it's been a long time that I'll let you use my services for free!"

With a sigh, Cid took out his gil pouch, "How much?"

"No, no, no, no!" The seeq pushed his gil pouch away, "I can't take money from you Master Cid. It's not right."

"Ugh..." The revgaji scratched his head in irritation. "Then what is it you want for payment?"

"Stalks! Tomato Stalks!" His mouth slightly drooled as he said the word. Melanee recoiled in disgust, "The perfectly sublime, delicious, tender and beautifully shaped Tomato Stalks!"

"Then it's too bad." Cid took out his gil pouch again, "We don't have any stalks. Just take some gil and buy them yourself."

"Aaah, that's where you're wrong Master Cid." Ribs said with a sneaky gleam in his eye, "I heard that there is a new bill on the hunts board looking for someone to cut down the Tomato population roaming around 'Adventurer's Rest.'"

"And you want me to go and hunt them for you?" Cid replied dryly.

"You have a clan, don't you?" Ribs nodded, "Why else would the great Master Cid be hanging around a white mage viera like that?"

"Fine." Shrugging, the revgaji decided that it would be best to appease the greedy seeq, "I'll go accept the hunt."

"Aaahehehehaa!" Ribs threw his head back and laughed happily, "I'll be waiting here then, Master Cid! Pleasure doing business with you!"

Grumbling, Cid began to walk down the sloped roof and back onto the streets with Melanee struggling to catch up to his long strides. She looked back at the waving Ribs, wondering the reason behind the seeq's insistence on calling him 'Master'...

* * *

"This must be it." Luso said as he stopped in front of a large, cast iron door. He looked around the door. The windows were barred with iron bars and there was a large battle–axe hanging overhead that served as a signpost. Gulping, he cautiously pushed open the door and peeked inside.

CLANG.

He jumped. A loud metallic noise suddenly rang out from inside the smithy, followed by even more clanging noises. Slightly afraid, he sidled through a gap between the door and the wall. As he snuck inside, the iron door suddenly crashed shut.

"Who's there?!" A loud, gruff voice came from the direction inside the smithy, "I'm warning ye, if yer a thief, then ye better hope ye made peace with whatever god ye believe in!"

"No! No!" Luso quickly blabbed out, "I'm not a thief! I'm a customer! A patron! Someone that wants your help!"

"A likely story!" A large curtain lining the back wall of the smithy flew open. A massive bangaa came walking out of the furnace, wielding an equally massive sledgehammer. "Now who is it that dares enter my store with such a loud racket?!"

"M–me!" Luso raised his hand slowly, "I'm the racket maker...person."

The large bangaa grunted and tossed the sledgehammer forwards. The massive stone hammer landed on top of the bangaa's counter with a loud crashing noise. Several cracks began to spread from where the hammer landed. He took off his work apron and covered the mess he made with it.

Viewing this spectacle, Luso thought that maybe coming here was a bad idea after all.

"So!" The blacksmith bellowed, "What is it that ye come here for, runt?"

"Um..." Quivering, Luso drew his ruined sword and laid it atop the counter. "M–my sw–sword. C–can you f–fix it?"

The blacksmith snatched up the sword. In his massive hands, the shortsword might as well have been a twig from a tree. His beady eyes narrowed as he examined the rust covering the blade. With a snort, he gripped the sword's blade with both his hands and snapped it in half.

"This blade is completely worthless!" He tossed the two halves of the sword away and faced Luso. "A Knot of Rust, kah! Fighting cowards, were ye?"

"Ah...ah..." Scared out of his wits, Luso could only stammer out a few nonsense sounds.

"In any case, yer sword is beyond all hope." He stomped around his counter and grabbed Luso by the back of his clothes. He lifted him up high into the air and made him face the multitudes of swords lying on the shelf. "Now, these here are all swords I've personally forged in this here smithy 'o mine. If ye are looking for a good weapon for ye to trust yerself to, look no further than the swords here!"

Luso looked around at the various blades glimmering in front of him. There were some that were short and stubby, long and thin, and all sorts of combinations in between. Curved sabers, sharp fencing foils and even a keen looking katana.

"So, what is it yer lookin' for?" He dropped the boy onto the ground. Luso grimaced as he stood up, rubbing his behind. Looking back up, he took another look at all the swords lying on the shelf. He reached up and took the closest one he can reach.

"A broadsword, eh?" The bangaa leaned down and inspected the blade, "Not a bad choice for a novice like yerself. I'll sell it to ye with a discount, 280 gil. Not a bad trade, if I do say so myself."

Luso gave the broadsword a few test swings, "Whoa! Ack!" Reeling from the weight of the sword, he keeled over and fell flat on his face. The sword flew out of his hands and skittered away from him. He pushed himself up, rubbing his face until a sudden impact from above him pushed him down again.

"Oi, kid!" The bangaa bellowed, "Just because I'm selling ye a sword on discount doesn't mean I'm going to allow ye to destroy it like yer old one!"

"S–sorry!" Luso quickly apologized and pushed himself up on the ground as fast as he could. He rushed over to the sword and picked it up. "S–so, it's 280 gil, right?"

He reached inside his pocket and dug around for the gil pouch Cid had given him for this very purpose. His fingers groped around, trying to find the small leather bag that housed around a few hundred gil, but he felt nothing but the inside of his pocket.

_Eh...?_ He stuck his hand back in again, but with the same results. The gil pouch was not inside his pocket. In fact, his entire side pocket was empty, which included his notebook as well. _Eh? Eh? EHHHH?_

"What's the matter kid? No gil?" He leaned down and glanced inside his pocket, "Oho. Yer flat broke, aren't ye?"

"It's not like that!" Luso quickly replied, "I had an entire bag of gil in here earlier! I must've dropped it or something!"

The blacksmith took another look at his pocket. There was a wide slit cut in the lining of the pocket, just about the size of a fist. The incision was too precise to be a normal rip in the fabric. The bangaa snorted and stood back up to face the poor boy.

"Ye didn't drop yer gil, boy." He said, crossing his arms, "Ye've been the victim of a thievery. There's a cut inside yer pocket there. Someone must've sliced yer pants while ye weren't looking and nicked yer gil pouch."

"Thievery?!" Luso exclaimed, detaching his side pocket and pulling it wide open. Sure enough, there was a wide cut stretching from the top to the bottom of the pocket. The thief's dexterous hand must've cut it and took the gil and his notebook while he wasn't looking.

The blacksmith shook his head and took the sword from Luso's hands. "It's a pity. But if ye have no gil, then ye can't buy a weapon."

"Wait!" Luso said, "Then is there something I can do for you? An errand or something!"

"Why are ye so interested?"

"Well..." Luso glanced inside the pocket again. _I can't go back and tell Cid I lost his money. That would be disappointing him. He trusted me with this money, and I can't let him down now!_

"Ach...well." The bangaa scratched his head and thought for a second. "Oh, that's right! I do have something for ye to work on."

"Really? What is it?"

"Here, take this." He walked behind his counter and retrieved a piece of paper from underneath it. "This is a hunt request from yers truly."

"A hunt request?" He handed the paper over to Luso, who read over it. There was a large illustration of what resembles a large red tomato. "Is this a tomato?"

"That's right. There's been problems all around Adventurer's Rest. Tomato population's been too high, and I need someone to cut'em down before the entire field is covered in tomatoes. My own supplies and materials all come from that direction, so the overgrowth is a problem for the caravans."

_So he wants me to go and pick some tomatoes off the fields? Sounds easy enough, but why is this called a 'hunt?' _Luso pondered to himself.

"Clear the field of tomatoes, and bring me their stalks." The bangaa continued, "If ye bring me around...say, fifteen of them, I'll give you that sword. Free of charge."

"Really?" Luso asked, "No catch?"

"No catch." The bangaa said, tossing Luso the broadsword. "But if ye don't bring back fifteen, then ye'll have to give that sword back. Understand?"

"Crystal clear!" Saluting, Luso replaced his old sword sheath with his new broadsword. He rushed towards the metal door and opened it.

"Don't worry about a thing, I'll get those tomatoes out of the way in less than a hour!" He waved back energetically, "I'll be back soon!"

"Don't get hurt now." The bangaa replied, but the boy was already out and gone. "...he's an energetic one. I hope he knows what he's doing, those tomatoes aren't just fresh produce."

He walked over and picked up the two halves of his old sword. Smiling ruefully, he pocketed the two pieces and walked back into his workshop.

* * *

**A/N: **The original draft of this chapter involved Luso actually getting a defined job class, Cid visiting Ribs by himself, and Melanee actually having her instructions. Just goes to show how much a story can change during writing.

**Town Info: **Camoa is a large town located in the continent of Loar. The town is split between the overground 'Uptown' and the underground 'Lowtown.' Most of the residential houses and buildings are located in the Uptown, as well as the local pub and Poacher's Den. The Lowtown consists of a labyrinthine area, separated from the uptown by a flight of stairs and a large iron gate. The Lowtown is where all the stores and shops are located, as well as various other seedy places of interest.


	10. Cat Thief

**The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2**

* * *

**Chapter 9: **"Cat Thief"

Adventurer's Rest. An aptly named field that occupies most of the northern region of Camoa. The field is well known for being a calming, peaceful place that any weary traveler can feel safe enough to simply lie down in the grass and lazily snooze the day away. Sadly, that statement no longer holds true for this beautiful field.

"AAAGH!" One visibly frightened Hume soldier tore out of the field screaming. His blue hued clothing was stained with a bright, vibrant crimson color. "This is impossible! Forget this hunt, I prefer my life!"

He took out the hunt request from his pack and crumpled it up hastily. Tossing the wad of paper away, he ran away from the field and back to Camoa. Once the man was away and out of sight, a girl came out from her hiding spot behind a tree. She brushed back her silver hair and picked up the ball of paper. Smoothing it out, she took a cursory glance at it and smiled.

"How disappointing." She commented, "And here, I thought that one was strong enough to take out at least one of them. In the end, he ended up being a coward. I would've thought the reward of twenty gil per stalk was enough to drive any man to do anything. Then again, I would've taken it all anyway!"

Laughing to herself, she looked back at the field in front of her. True to her word, the field was essentially swarming with large, red vegetables. In her eyes, the vegetables might as well have been large sacks of gil. Licking her lips, the silver–haired girl placed her hand on her weapon, a small, curved knife called the khukri. Right when she was about to draw it, a couple of voices nearby drew her attention and she ducked back behind the tree.

Peering out from behind her cover, the cat–like girl could see three people walking down the road towards the field, a Hume, a Revgaji, and a Viera. She smiled when she saw the Hume boy.

_What a coincidence! _She thought, fingering the small pouch of gil hanging from her belt, _It's my benefactor! I should go and give him my thanks._

Laughing silently to herself, the girl began to discreetly follow the group.

* * *

"I wonder why that guy was running away?" Luso turned around and gazed back at the road towards Camoa. Cid scratched his head and took out the hunt request he obtained from the pub.

"Well," He flicked the paper with his finger, "The hunt involves taking care of a supposedly massive tomato infestation. This must be the reason, aye."

Luso put his hands behind his head and smirked, "It's just vegetables, right? What's there to be afraid of?"

"These aren't just garden variety tomatoes here, Luso." Cid shook his head, a serious expression on his face, "It was a lucky sign that you ran into us while we were heading here. What were you thinking? Taking on a hunt like this without any help?"

"It's just tomatoes!" Luso argued back. He didn't want to admit that he had his gil pilfered and had to take on this hunt to make it back. "Besides, I used eat tomatoes all the time back home!"

"Like I said..." Sighing, the Revgaji scratched the back of his head in exasperation, "We're not talking about your everyday garden variety tomatoes here, Luso."

Luso shrugged and turned around to face Melanee, who was now carrying a small bottle containing several small, spiky green fruit. To Luso, they looked particularly unappetizing, even if it was supposedly a fruit.

"Is that the thing you need for that Ocktor guy's medicine?" Luso asked, staring warily at the small black spikes covering the fruit, "It doesn't look very delicious."

Melanee lifted the small bottle and inspected the contents, "It's not supposed to look appetizing. And, as a matter of fact," She said, smiling at the boy, "It's inedible. The juices inside the cactus fruit can be used make a powerful curative when it is properly extracted. But if you just eat it in the wild, the juices will become a powerful poison instead."

"Ack...I guess this is something that even Lynd wouldn't want to eat, huh?" Luso joked.

"You never know. I do wonder about that Bangaa's stomach at times." Cid replied with a serious tone in his voice.

"Does Lynd really have that big of an appetite?" Melanee wondered, "He seems like he would enjoy eating anything, like that Dreamhare...or even that Wolf."

"Aye, that he does." The Revgaji said ominously, "I once found him attempting to devour a Malboro, of all things."

Melanee involuntarily shuddered and covered her face with her hood. She appeared to be trying to cope with some sort of trauma.

"What's a Malboro?" Luso asked curiously, oblivious to Melanee's grief. Shaking his head, Cid simply patted Luso on the shoulder and pointed at the shivering Viera.

"Sometimes..." The Revgaji said, "It's best to put a stopper on your curiosity, for other's sake."

Cid walked ahead of the two and stopped. A large wooden sign was erected in the middle of the road, with a large warning scrawled on the wood with white paint. Detailing the dangers that lie ahead.

"Aye, this must be it." He said, reading the sign, "'Adventurer's Rest, careful of tomato attacks.'"

"Tomato...attacks?" Luso repeated skeptically, "It sounds a little ridiculous when you read it like that."

"Aye, but it won't be ridiculous once we begin the hunt." To emphasize his statement, the Revgaji drew his sword and strode past the sign. Following his actions, Luso drew his new broadsword. Melanee placed her bottle of fruit inside her rucksack and took out her staff. Raising his sword, Cid pointed the blade out in front of them.

"And that, Luso, is a tomato."

Instantly, the boy recoiled at the sight. The 'tomato' was not the juicy red vegetable he had imagined it to be. Instead, the 'tomato' was a small, disturbing little creature with a head much like the juicy red vegetable he enjoyed so much. The head of the tomato was what made Luso step back in disgust. A wide row of oversized, uneven fangs extended from out of the face of the tomato's head, giving the already–strange creature a vicious appearance.

"Agh...you weren't kidding when you said they weren't 'garden variety'..." Luso shook his head, trying to expel the disgust inside him, "I don't think I'll ever be able to eat a tomato again after this..."

"One of the many hazards of taking on a hunt such as this, Luso." Cid said, patting him comfortingly on his shoulder. "You'll have to settle for other things to eat. We're only here for the stalks, now keep quiet. We don't want to attract any unwelcome attention."

Luso shook his head again and looked around. There were nearly hundreds of these mutated produce populating the field. All gnashing and snarling with their horrendous fangs, some were even trying to fight each other, splattering red tomato juice all over the ground. However, one certain thing stood out in this pandemonium.

"Hey, Cid?" The boy asked curiously, "What's that blue thing over there with the funny looking head?"

The Revgaji looked at where Luso was pointing. There was a small, similar creature standing on a rock, towering above the rest. It appeared to be surveying the mayhem below, as if it was a leader of the pack. Unlike the rest of the flock, the single one standing above had a blue, spherical head. Contrasting with the red, lumpy heads of the tomatoes. Notably, a large, silvery spike protruded out of the top of this creature's cranium.

"Why, that's an alraune!" Cid yelled surprisingly loudly. He sounded uncharacteristically ecstatic. He even raised his hands up into the air, as if praising some sort of deity. "Hrrah! Our luck is strong today!"

"Why's that?" Melanee asked timidly. She was slightly cowed by the Revgaji's sudden change in demeanor.

"That drill fitting the top of that alraune's head fetches a pretty price in the market!" He explained, pointing at the shiny spike on the creature's head, "This is definitely good news for us, unbelievably good news!"

"Then we just have to chop it off, right?" Luso swung his sword and cleaved a few blades of grass in half. Cid nodded and was just about to run through the tomato horde and towards the alraune when a new voice had drew their attentions.

"Why, hello there!" Suddenly, a silver–haired girl walked out from behind the group. She turned around and faced them, smiling sweetly. "You all weren't planning on killing all of these poor tomatoes, were you?"

"Hey! You're–" Luso's eyes widened in recognition as he raised his hand to point at her.

"Who are you?" Cid interrupted impatiently. "Don't even think of poaching our kill, girl. We were here first!"

"Me? Poach?" She looked affronted. The girl leaned forward and placed a hand on her heart, "Never! I just want to lend you three a hand...for which I expect a reasonable cut of the rewards, of course."

Her smiling expression was suddenly replaced with a forlorn expression. She fidgeted slightly with her clothes and scuffed the ground with her boots, "Money's tight these days...why, I was just wondering where tonight's supper was going to come from."

She looked up at the Revgaji with wide, imploring eyes, "Is there anything more piteous than a growing girl such as I being driven to the brink of starvation?"

"Think of it as a, I don't know, a good deed?" She took her hands and grasped Cid's arm. "Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with sugar?"

Cid roughly pulled his arm away from the begging girl and motioned for Luso and Melanee to huddle. They turned around and faced the Revgaji.

"Right..." He grumbled, "What do we do about her?"

"She seems like a good girl." Melanee reasoned, "It can't hurt to have a little help."

"We have more than enough tomatoes here to share, it should be fine." Luso added, "Besides, I know her. She helped me out earlier back in Camoa."

"Oh? What is it that you know about her then?"

"Well...I guess I don't really know much." Recalling his experience back at the lowtown, all Luso could remember was that girl giving him directions to the smithy. But Luso wasn't someone to distrust another without a reason, "But I think she's trustworthy."

"Hm..." Cid contemplated the situation for a moment, "All right. I'll trust your judgment then, Luso. But keep your eye on her in case she tries anything suspicious. I don't buy that piteous act."

Melanee raised her head and glanced at the alraune standing on the rock, "If we do manage to catch that alraune, couldn't we split the earnings and give her a small donation? She sounds like she's going through a rough patch."

Although he appeared to still have some objections to using the gil he could get from the alraune, Cid grudgingly nodded and broke the huddle. He turned around and faced the girl, who was patiently fixing her ribbon while they were conferencing.

"Right, we have made a decision."

"Oh?"

Cid looked back at his two clan members, then turned back to face her again. "We'll split the reward." He said, "Three fourths of the gil will go to us, and the last part...we'll give it to you for whatever you need to do with."

"Four to one?" The cat–like girl replied jubilantly, clapping her hands together and smiling, "Well! That's very generous of you!"

She placed a hand on her belt and deftly retrieved her weapon. She nimbly spun it in her hand and caught it in a reverse grip, pointing it towards the alraune.

"Let's teach these rowdy vegetables a couple lessons in table manners then, shall we?" With that, the silver–haired girl suddenly dashed off in a sprint towards it. Running past the horde of tomatoes in her way.

"Oy!" Cid yelled after her, "That alraune is ours! It's off limits!"

Right when the Revgaji was about to chase after her, the crowd of tomatoes that the girl had leaped over had noticed them standing there. Deciding that attacking the non–moving group of peoplel would be less effort than chasing the speedy catgirl, the horde simultaneously bared their fangs and began to charge Cid, Luso and Melanee.

Cursing, Cid raised his sword to chest level and began to hack away at the oncoming produce.

"Luso, you're much faster than I am!" Cid called back, "You go and chase after that girl and make sure she doesn't run off with that drill!"

"Will you be okay?" Luso replied, blocking a row of fangs from biting into him with his sword.

"I'll take care of all the rest!" He punched aside a tomato, breaking several of it's fangs in the process before cleaving it in two with his sword. "Use my back as a springboard and take a leap over this swarm!"

"You got it!" Luso kicked aside another tomato. Sheathing his sword, he ran towards the Revgaji's broad back while repelling several tomatoes with his fists. Cid bent down slightly to give Luso a more broader platform. The boy leaped onto Cid's back and jumped off. He flew into the air and landed on the other side of the horde. With the silver hair of the girl in his sights, he quickly dashed off with alacrity.

Nodding approvingly, Cid jumped back and placed himself between Melanee and the oncoming horde, acting as a shield. Swinging his sword in a wide arc, he lopped off several tomato heads from the crowd. Despite having their numbers suddenly thinned out, the tomatoes still advanced towards the two, undeterred.

"Stay back, I'll take care of this group." The Viera nodded and moved backwards away from the Revgaji. Once she was out of harm's way, Cid held his sword up in front of his face and closed his eyes. He began to regulate his breathing, focusing his energy inside him. Slowly, his body began to emit a faint, but noticeable red aura. He could hear the scuffling sounds of the tomatoes rushing towards him, growing louder as they got closer. Regardless, he kept his eyes closed and concentrated on maintaining his aura.

He suddenly opened his eyes, and in that instant, the red aura around him exploded and became a full fledged flame. The red fire covered his body, making him look like a massive, human–shaped fireball. He stared down the oncoming horde of monsters, his sword at the ready. A large grin spread across his dark face.

"_Right then, let's rumble._"

* * *

"Why, hello there alraune!" The girl took her khukri and nimbly cut down several straggler tomatoes surrounding the rock. "You'll make me a fine profit in the market tonight!"

She reached down onto the ground and picked up a tiny pebble. She drew back her arm and lightly threw the rock towards the alraune. The pebble struck the small creature on the head and bounced off. While it didn't exactly do any substantial damage, the pebble had served it's purpose. Veins popped out of the alraune's head, visibly angry at the sudden attack. It quickly scanned around from it's vantage point on the rock, trying to discern who was the one that hit it.

The girl whistled sharply and drew the angry alraune's attention. The blue–headed creature suddenly reared it's head backwards and made a strange guttural cry. Following that, the alraune dropped onto all four of it's limbs like an olympic runner, its drill pointed straight at the girl. In response, she adopted a defensive stance, with her khukri ready to parry the oncoming attack.

"H–hey!" A breathless voice came from behind her, "Why'd you run off like that?"

"Oh, perfect timing!" With a swift turn, she dodged behind the boy and pushed him forward, replacing him as the alraune's target, "Be a dear and take out this alraune for me, will you?"

"Huh? Wha–?!" Luso's surprise was cut short as a blue streak speedily flew towards him. The alraune had launched itself off the rock like a missile, it's drill was aimed directly at his chest, ready to pierce him through it if hit him.

With a yelp, Luso quickly rolled away, avoiding the alraune's attack. The blue monster nimbly somersaulted in the air and landed firmly on it's small feet. It turned around and snarled at it's missed target. The girl whistled again and applauded.

"You have pretty good reflexes, I'm impressed!" Luso looked up and saw a smiling face in front of him, "Keep it up!"

"What was that for?!" He said angrily, "You tried to use me as a shield!"

"I'm sorry..." She said apologetically, staring at him innocently with her large yellow eyes. She extended a hand to help him up, "I was just a little scared, that's all. Will you forgive me?"

"Rrgh..." Luso turned his head away from her gaze. She sounded slightly fake, but a part of him didn't want to think bad of her just yet. Letting out a large sigh of frustration, he rubbed the back of his head and turned back around, accepting her helping hand. "Fine, I'll forgive you."

"Really? You're pretty kind!"

"Just don't do it again!" Luso warned. The girl nodded and gave him a thumbs up, smiling. Luso couldn't help but smile back at the pretty girl. Almost instantly, he began to blush furiously. He pulled off his hat and began to mess up his hair to try and hide his red face.

"Oh, but just a warning to you." She said, looking over the boy's shoulder, "You might want to pay attention to behind you."

"Huh?" He spun around and glanced at where the blue creature had landed. His vision was suddenly filled by a mass of blue and silver. "Wagh!"

He fell backwards on to his backside, just barely dodging the surprise rocket attack. The alraune snarled again as it pass over him. It spun in midair and landed on the side of the rock. With incredible agility, it kicked off the rock with it's tiny legs and rebounded into another rocket attack.

Luso scarcely had enough time to get up and react. Plopping his cap back on his head, he hastily raised up his sword and swung down hard on the alraune. His broadsword bounced off the hard drill on the alraune's head. However, his strike had managed to stop the alraune's charge, knocking it down onto the ground.

"Haah!" Taking advantage of the alraune's momentary disorder, he swung the sword down point first. Planning on piercing straight through the blue beast's head. Unfortunately...

"Ooh...so close." The cat–eared girl remarked amusedly as the alraune managed to deftly avoid the thrust and retaliate with a headbutt to the boy's shin. Hopping around on one foot, Luso cut a comical figure as he bounced around the field while holding onto his bruised shin. The girl giggled as she watched his pained antics.

"That's it! I won't let you embarrass me any more!" Luso said through gritted teeth as he firmly laid his foot back down on the ground. Only to have his entire body back up in the air as he jumped up to avoid another rocket headbutt from the alraune. He was becoming incredibly agitated at this annoying monster. He picked up his sword and charged towards the alraune. This time, he would be the one that attacks first!

As the alraune landed from it's recent attempt at attacking the boy, it quickly turned around to mount another attack at him. However, if the alraune had a mouth, it would've opened it wide in surprise as it saw a sudden flash of silver steel slice across its vision. The slash from his sword left a long gash on the large round head of the monster, defacing it's perfectly spherical shape. A viscous green liquid began to secrete from the wound in place of where it would normally be blood.

"Ugh...ew!" Luso retched as he pulled back his sword and wiped the green goo off. "I should be glad I didn't eat breakfast today..."

The wounded beast let out a pained screech. More of the thick green liquid dribbled out as it raged furiously from being attacked. In it's anger, it began to jump up and down, as if it was trying to stomp the grass flat. At the apex of it's third jump, it suddenly turned upside down and landed on it's head. Impaling the soft dirt with it's drill, it stared angrily at the boy while it's entire body was completely inverted.

"Huh?" Luso edged closer to it to see what it was doing. Once he was right in front of it, the alraune let out a loud shriek and threw itself forwards, kicking it's small legs into Luso's stomach with surprising force. The boy was knocked off his feet and fell onto his back. The alraune righted itself up immediately and leaped on top of the grounded boy's chest, beating and stomping with it's tiny arms and legs. Green goo splattered all over Luso's clothes.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!"

The girl giggled at the sight of the boy being brutally beaten up by a small monster about one fourth his size. She walked over and kneeled down beside him, picking up his fallen hat and watching the fiasco with her shiny golden eyes.

"Don't just–ack!–sit there and–ow!–watch!" Luso yelled in between beatings, "Help me–ow!"

"Oh, but it's so funny seeing you play with it like that." The girl replied, a hint of amusement in her voice. She placed a finger on her chin and pondered for a second. Then, as if a bolt of inspiration had hit her, she said gleefully, "How about this? I'll help you and you'll give me that drill on the alraune's head, is that a good deal?"

"Wha–oof!–no!" Luso took one of his hands and tried to grab the alraune off, but only received a painful headbutt in retaliation. "I can't do that–ow!"

"Why not?"

Trying another tactic, Luso rolled over to try and knock the alraune off him. Unfortunately, it didn't work out as planned and it only allowed the alraune to attack the back of his head instead. Although the strikes still hurt painfully, he felt a little solace in that at least it wasn't using it's drill.

"Aren't we–ouch!–splitting the–agh!–reward?!"

"Oh right," She said, "Four to one, was it?"

Standing up, she gave another sharp whistle. As soon as the alraune turned it's head to see what it was, a boot flew straight into it's face. The small blue monster made a shrill cry as it flew through the air from the power of the kick, landing on it's head a few feet away. Feeling the absence of weight on his back, Luso sat up and rubbed his head, trying to get rid of the pain.

"Thanks..." He said as he pushed himself up and instantly fell back onto the ground as the girl stepped on him like a stepping stone, "Ow, hey!!"

"Well, if it's four to one...I'll be glad to accept the four! Why, that's even more for me!"

Landing gracefully, she tore off after the stunned alraune. Leaving Luso digging himself out of the ground again.

"Hey wait!" He quickly picked up his sword and ran after her, "You're the one!"

"I know I am!" She crouched and leaped up high above the dazed alraune, her tail swinging in the wind. Right as the alraune pulled itself up from the dirt, a shadow was cast upon it. It looked up, and for the second–and last time–in it's life, it saw the shiny glint of a blade. It's green innards splattered everywhere as the her khukri pierced through its head.

Pulling her dagger out of the now–green head, she allowed it to stumble around for a bit before the impaled alraune fell down and became still.

"Hm...I'm the one, huh?" She giggled to herself and bent down to prise the drill off the alraune's head. A small glint next to the dead alraune's neck caught her eye.

She bent down and inspected it. There was a small metal chain tied around it's neck, and something akin to a nametag was hanging off it.

_ 'Carm?' Was this alraune once domesticated or something? _She removed the chain and held it up.

"Hey!" While she was busy pondering the strange name, Luso had caught up and was now staring at the dead alraune. She ignored him.

_Well, I guess it doesn't matter to me. All I need is the drill. _She pocketed the mysterious chain and returned to dislodging the tough drill. It was proving to be a difficult object to extract, even with the help of her trusty khukri. _Grr...I didn't expect it to be this hard to dig out...hm, maybe..._

"Hey!" She turned around and beamed at the goo–covered boy, "Can you please help me with this? I'll give you one thirds of the rewards if you do."

"One thir–hey!" He spluttered, "We agreed on giving you one fourth! And besides, we were talking about giving you the tomato stalks, not that alraune drill!"

"Hm...then." She rummaged around the small pouch hanging from her belt, "How about we trade for...this!"

From inside her pouch, she withdrew a long, flattish looking book. The paper inside the cover appeared to be loosely bound with a series of metal rings protruding out of the spine. Luso recognized it immediately.

"That's my notebook! Where did you find it?!" He tried to take it, but she moved it out of his grasp. She held out her index finger in front of his face and made a disapproving sound.

"Tsk...tsk...tsk..." She said, "I'll let you have this book if you dig out that drill for me, do we have a deal?"

"Rggh..." Torn between wanting his notebook back and following Cid's orders, Luso ran his hands through his hair again. Unfortunately, he forgot that even his hands were coated in the disgusting green goo, giving his brown hair a strange green tinge.

"Nice style." She commented sarcastically, "So do we have a deal or not?"

"Fine! But you're telling me how you found my notebook!" He walked past her and took out his sword. He crouched down and began to wedge out the drill with the point of his sword.

The drill was stubborn. It was almost as if the entire thing was rooted deep into the alraune's cranium. Needless to say, Luso was having a tough time pulling it out, even with the help of his marginally larger broadsword.

Thinking up a different solution, he raised his sword instead of continuing his futile dig.

"That drill might be hard, but the head isn't!" He swung down.

Instead of what he expected–the alraune's head being sheared into two pieces–the head had completely erupted with a force of a small explosion. Flying blots of green liquid flew everywhere, covering the entire radius around them.

"...that could've gone better." He lamented as he wiped away the massive amount of goo that just splattered over his face. "Bleah...there goes my appetite for lunch now..."

The girl–who had wisely decided to take cover earlier –strode over to the mess on the ground and picked out the now–liberated drill in the middle of the gunk. She polished it with a small handkerchief.

"Ah...it's beautiful." She smiled as she held it up against the sun to inspect it, "I don't know how to thank you enough. So I'll just say...'Thanks, Luso.'"

"...huh?" He lifted his head suddenly, "How did you know my na–?"

"Luuuuso!" A loud voice came from behind him, he turned around and saw Melanee and a red–soaked Cid running towards them. The girl made a small noise of discontent. She moved back a few steps and reached into her pocket.

"Well...it's been nice dealing with you all." She withdrew a small yellow crystal and held it up. A bright white glow began to surround her feet, "But you know...windfalls do need to be spent! So long!"

"Wait!" Luso called out. She was still holding the alraune drill and his notebook. "Our drill! My notebook!"

"Oh, right! Our deal, I almost forgot!" She tossed the notebook onto the ground, but kept holding onto the drill. Luso scrambled over to prevent his book from being ruined by the goo. At the same time, the glow underneath her feet had intensified and had completely obscured her body.

"Hey wai–!" Luso began to say, but he had to cover his face from the blinding flash. When he opened his eyes again, the girl was nowhere to be found.

"Where'd she go?!" Luso patted at the spot where she stood. He looked at his notebook. It had his name printed clearly on the front cover. Recognition suddenly dawned on him. His notebook...his missing gil...

The boy fell to his knees and held his head in frustration, "I don't believe it! She was the thief! She was the one who stole from me back then!"

"Luso! What happened?!" Cid came pounding over, gingerly sidestepping the mess that Luso had made. He had a large bag in his right hand, it was slightly dripping.

"The alraune drill, do you have it?!" He asked hastily.

"Uh...um..." Luso quickly stood up and fidgeted nervously, "Well.. you see..."

Melanee came running up next to them. She looked around, "Hey, where did that girl who looked like a cat go?"

"Don't tell me..." Cid began ominously.

Luso gulped. The Cid that was standing in front of him looked like a demon. A really...really pissed off demon.

"She...um...took the drill." Luso broke the news nervously. Seeing Cid's expression make a turn for the worse, Luso quickly stood up and tried to mitigate the mood, "We were had! She never wanted to cooperate with us at all!"

"..."

"...C–Cid?"

"..." Cid dropped the red stained bag. His hands were beginning to tremble wildly.

Glancing at the dropped bag, Luso could see several green stalks poking out of the top, "W–well, at least we got those tomato stalks...right?" He clapped his hands together eagerly, trying to smile, "Lets go trade it in! The guy who made the hunt wrote that he was willing to pay for them...you know? We might even be able to make more than the drill...would..."

He trailed off. The Revagaji's face had darkened considerably. Luso and Melanee both backed up, afraid.

"I..." Cid's entire body was shaking now. It appeared as though he was going to explode.

Suddenly, he lifted his head and shouted into the air.

"_I'LL KILL HER!_"

Both Luso and Melanee were knocked backwards by the force of his yell. It was as if his voice suddenly grew a pair of fists was now punching them both.

"_YOU HEAR ME GIRL?!_" He continued, "_I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!! I AM GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY!!!_"

This was the first time Luso saw Cid lose his temper.

* * *

**A/N: **This chapter was originally much shorter, but I ended up writing more than I expected. I blame the silver–haired, cat–like girl. Also, I'm reverting back to capitalizing various nouns in the FFTA2 world from this chapter onwards, such as 'Hume' or 'Revgaji'. Leaving them uncapitalized left me a bad taste in my mouth.

**A/N2:** FFNet really wasn't being helpful to me today. Not only did it decide to log me out in the middle of an uploading session, it completely ruined around half an hour work of editing. If you spot any strange mistakes or errors in this chapter, Thank FFNet.


	11. Storm Clouds

**The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2**

* * *

**Chapter 10: **"Storm Clouds"

"Who's a good chocobo? Kupo! Of course! That's you–Kupo!"

The chocobo chirped happily as the Moogle patted it on the beak. The Moogle floated down onto the ground, replacing her hood back onto her head. She looked up at the five birds tied up outside the pub. It was her job to take care of every single chocobo that gets left outside in Camoa, which can amount to almost a hundred.

Not that she's complaining. Unlike her older brother and her wayward twin, she actually enjoys being with the birds.

Taking out a small feather brush from her pocket and twirling it in her small fingers, she got to work on grooming the majestic avians. She hummed a little ditty to herself as she expertly smoothed out the chocobo's big yellow feathers, picking out small particles of dirt and tiny leaves. Her large ears suddenly picked up something–or rather–nothing. An absence of sound. Turning around, she glanced around to see why the crowd had become so quiet all of a sudden.

Her brush fell out of her hands.

Three people were walking down the street, parting aside the crowd as if they were a gigantic monster. Then again, it wouldn't be too far off to call the man in front a monster. His entire presence appeared to dominate the entire street, a large, powerful looking Revgaji with his clothes and skin stained a striking crimson. It looked as though he just came out of a particularly bloody war. To make his appearance even more terrible, a dark, stormy expression had dominated his entire face. Even the chocobos shuddered slightly.

Without a word, he signaled his two companions to enter the pub. The Hume boy looked similarly dirty like the Revgaji, only with a sickening color of green instead. He was mumbling something while simultaneously reading some sort of strange looking book. Only the Viera that was with them looked relatively normal. With her white robes and white hair, she appeared to greatly contrast with the other two colored demons.

Once the three strange people had disappeared into the pub, time appeared to have began again. The crowds started to move on the streets again, and the usual afternoon noise started to settle in. Even the Moogle flew back down and picked up her grooming brush, albeit slightly unnerved.

"I should tell my brothers about this." She mumbled as she began to brush the chocobo again, "Montblanc might be a little amused."

* * *

Meanwhile–inside the pub itself–a certain Bangaa was having the time of his life.

"And that makes twenty five!" Lynd stomped hard on a table, causing several empty mugs to roll off and clatter onto the floor. He thrust his fist forward, pointing at the crowd of people in front of him. "Who else wants to take me on? I still have all that energy, and I haven't even eaten lunch yet!"

The crowd mumbled to each other as they stared below the Bangaa. Like he claimed, there were at least twenty five people underneath the table, all apparently out cold.

The previous, relatively small exhibition duels had escalated into a massive brawl after Lynd suddenly threw himself in to the fray, declaring that he was the strongest out of all of them. The previous fighters had sneered at this new challenger, but were quickly shut up after witnessing the Bangaa's strength first–hand.

Soon, after Lynd had swiftly disposed of the original two duelers, the other fighters standing aside felt their blood heat up and simply dived in. As a result, the previously small exhibition duels had transformed into a massive free–for–all, dominating the entire center of the pub. The black mages in the corner had dashed up the stairs to the safety of their room, the dancing Vieras had ducked behind their makeshift stage in a bid to protect themselves.

Naturally, the newcomers had attempted to take out the first rabble–rouser, Lynd. Unfortunately, they didn't count on his tenacity, and were unexpectedly taken out by the fight–loving Bangaa's bare fists. In less than five minutes, all twenty–five challengers were on the ground, unconscious.

"Brute." Edyal muttered under her breath as she saw another hapless fighter get beaten down onto the ground. She had sat through his entire spectacle, all the while contemplating on freezing the boisterous Bangaa into an ice sculpture. A thump at her table made her turn around.

"'lo." Came a surly greeting from the dirtied Revgaji. He took out his sack of tomato stalks and tossed it on the table. Sitting down, he placed his head within his hands and let out a large depressed sigh. From behind him, Luso and Melanee sidled in and took their seats as well.

"I have been wondering where you all have gone, the afternoon's nearly over." Edyal remarked, "You look like you have just came out of a bloodbath."

Edyal moved her robes away from the dripping red sack on the table, "Is there a reason behind your...reddish color?"

"Tomatoes." He grunted, gesturing at the sack, "'twas just a hunt for tomato stalks."

She glanced at his stony expression, Luso and Melanee's nervousness, and the general heavy atmosphere around them.

"If it is just a hunt, then I wonder why you are so...morose." She pulled open the sack and several tomato stalks rolled out. She caught one and held it up. "It appears as though you completed the hunt objectives...perhaps even excessively so."

"It's nothing." Cid stated flatly. He took out a handkerchief and began to wipe the juice from his blond mustache.

"It does not sound like nothing to me," Edyal replied, dropping the stalks back into the sack, "What happened out there?"

"Nothing at all." Finding that his attempt at cleaning his mustache only stained it even more, Cid stuck his handkerchief back into his pocket and looked away. "This is my usual expression."

_Liar._ Edyal sighed and held her head with her hand, rubbing her temple. This was probably the first time she had ever seen Cid so depressed.

She raised her hand and pointed at him and spoke in a stern voice, "Cid, what happened out there? Do not wallow in your own self despair, that is not like you at all. You are acting like a little child, perhaps a child even younger than Luso."

"I said–" Cid stood up, his expression turbulent, "–it was nothing."

Edyal did the same, standing up and glaring straight back at him. A tense atmosphere expanded between the two, with Luso and Melanee both fidgeting nervously in their seats, watching the space between them heat up like a small oven.

This standoff seemed to last for hours, despite only being a few minutes. Slowly, Cid began to back off, sliding back into his seat. He held his head in his hand and drooped onto the tabletop. Edyal remained standing.

"Perhaps..." He suddenly said, "Perhaps I have been a little immature..."

He looked up, a weak grin was on his face, "I'm sorry, Luso, Melanee."

He bowed his head in apology at them. Luso quickly stood up and said, "No, it's okay!" and patted him on the back. Melanee simply sighed in relief. She was glad that the repressive air around Cid had disappeared.

"Good to see you are back with us now." Edyal smiled and handed him a mug of water, "It is unsightly to see our leader in such a state."

"Aha..." Cid rubbed the back of his head as he accepted the drink. He downed it in one gulp and faced Edyal again, "I'm sorry."

Edyal shook her head and frowned, "That might be true, but it is also unsightly to have our leader apologize so much." She took her staff and clubbed him lightly on the head, "I am sure you are apologetic enough, so do not apologize anymore."

"You're harsh, Edyal." Cid rubbed his forehead, "But I'm thankful for that."

He waved over a waitress and asked her to refill his mug. She took it away and disappeared behind a curtain.

"Will you tell me what happened now?" Edyal asked for the third time. Cid sighed and turned around, frowning again, but not unwilling to speak.

"Hhaahh...Where do I begin?"

* * *

"...My, that sounds very unfortunate." Edyal commented after Cid finished his recap of the day's events. She traced the shape of the alraune drill on the table, "Alraune drills are indeed...valuable. I can understand your depression."

"Aye, and the stalks we earned today won't be worth any sort of recompensation either." Cid muttered, nudging the sack with his finger, "All of it is going to the streetear for his information."

"...I'm sorry..." Melanee apologized quietly. It _was_ her fault that they took on that hunt in the first place.

"Don't blame yourself." Cid shook his head and grinned at her from across the table, "We're a clan. If you have a problem, then we'll all help you get it done. So don't apologize for this. It's done, isn't it?"

"Oh, so that means you got your ingredient in the end, hm?" Edyal asked, glancing over at Melanee interestingly.

"Y–yes!" Melanee quickly dug out the small bottle that held the two spiky pieces of fruit. "This is the cactus fruit that Dr. Ocktor needed for the medicine!"

Edyal took the bottle that Melanee offered her. She gave it a thorough examination and nodded, "You managed to get yourself a nice specimen here." She put it back on the table and slid it back over to Melanee, "I do not know what kind of medicine Dr. Ocktor is trying to make, but I believe it will definitely turn out well now with your assistance."

Melanee blushed and stuck the bottle back inside her robes. Luso gave a small sigh and laid his head against the table. He felt exhausted, in more ways than one. He stared at the odd scene that Lynd had created, and stifled a small laugh. He watched as Lynd effortlessly blocked a sword slash by punching away the flat of the blade.

Suddenly, something clicked inside Luso's head.

"Ah!" He said, pushing himself up from the table, "I almost forgot!"

"What is it?" Melanee asked as she saw him reaching for the sack of stalks.

"I gotta go and bring some of these to the guy who gave me that hunt." He reached inside and took out a handful. He spread them out all over the table and began to count them. "Um...I think he asked for fifteen..."

"You're bringing them to the client?" Cid asked, watching him throw fifteen stalks into his side pocket.

"Yeah, he's that blacksmith down in the lowtown place." Luso replied, making sure his pocket wasn't filled with alraune gunk before tossing the stalks in. "He told me to bring him around fifteen to prove that I actually did do the hunt."

"Ah, proof of the hunt, hm?" Edyal mused, "I do say we have enough proof here for him to believe you."

"Aye, bring as much as you want." Cid said while pushing the sack towards him, "He might give you a reward for them."

"Didn't you say that you needed some for your streetear guy?" Luso said hesitantly.

Cid simply laughed and stuck his hand inside the sack. He withdrew several stalks and placed them on the table.

"I believe this is enough for that glutton."

* * *

The blacksmith watched intently as his customer perused his shelves, looking for a new weapon. Her pale, silvery–hair flowed left and right as she danced around the shelves, picking up a knife, a sword, and even contemplating a spear.

After several minutes of consideration, she took a short, squarish knife of the shelf and gave it a few test swings. Nodding approvingly she handed it over to the blacksmith.

"A Zwillblade, eh?" He said, holding the knife up, "Good eye, it's a good weapon for chopping and slicing. Not so much for stabbing though."

"Oh, it's fine." She replied airily, brushing her hair back behind her shoulder, "I had a little problem with chopping earlier today, and I don't really want to have a repeat of it later on."

"Learning from yer mistakes, eh? Good for ye." He chuckled while reaching up the shelf for the Zwillblade's sheath, "I see that ye already have a Khukri. Planning on using both, or are ye gonna sell it? This Zwillblade ain't cheap, ye know."

"Oh no. I don't plan on selling my beloved Khukri." A jingle of coins. The girl took out an extremely bloated gil pouch and waved it in front of the blacksmith with a cat–like smile, "I just so happened to have made...how do I say? A great windfall today."

"Ach." The blacksmith took the gil pouch and tested it's weight. His eyes opened wide in surprise as he opened it, "My lord, there must be thousands and thousands of gil in here!"

He stared back at the smiling girl with an incredulous look, "Ye are one lucky kitten, lady."

The girl giggled and thanked the blacksmith for his compliment. She took the Zwillblade in his hands and hooked it on her belt, opposite to the side that her Khukri was on. Once it was securely fastened, she drew both weapons and swung both of them out, cutting a graceful figure as she fenced with an invisible opponent.

"So what are ye going to use them for?" The blacksmith returned the gil pouch back to her, a considerable amount of gil still remained inside.

"I've had my eye on several marks posted on the hunt board." She pulled out a hunt request and gave it to the blacksmith, "I thought this one looked particularly interesting."

The blacksmith read it over and grinned, "I see, so that's why you chose the Zwillblade." He looked back up and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. "It's pretty late, are ye planning on hunting this beast at night?"

"Of course not." Looking affronted, the girl frowned and crossed her arms, "There wouldn't be any other people going after it at night."

"Ah, looking for a clan for this hunt. I see."

"Something like that." She spun around delicately and strode towards the iron door, "Thank you for your help, Mr. Blacksmith."

The large iron door closed with a loud crash. Feeling satisfied, the Bangaa blacksmith reached up and took down a sword from the top of a shelf. He took out a rag from his apron pocket and was just about to polish it until...

_Crash!_

The large iron door opened with a loud crash. The blacksmith, surprised, nearly dropped the sword in his hands. He glared at the sudden intruder. A hat–wearing boy with brown hair stood in the doorway, panting and sweating.

"That...that girl..." He panted, scrambling into the building. The door behind him crashed shut.

"Boy, what are ye doing?!" The angry Bangaa roared, "Ye almost made me cut myself with my own swor–!"

The boy suddenly rushed towards and stuck his face in front of the Bangaa's, interrupting his tirade.

"That girl who just came out of your store!" Luso yelled, "Did you know who she was? What did she do? Where did she go?! What's her name?!"

"One at a time, ye impatient boy!" He grabbed the boy by the scruff of his collar and lifted him up. With his other hand, he safely replaced the sword back on the shelf. "So what is it ye are asking about?!"

"That girl with the silver hair who was just in here!" Luso asked breathlessly, struggling to get himself loose from the blacksmith's tough grip, "I just saw her come out of your store! Do you know who she is?"

"That girl...Ye mean Adelle?" The blacksmith dropped Luso on the ground and crossed his arms.

A knowing smile began to spread on his lizard–like face, "What is it that ye need to know about her for? Ye interested in her or something?"

"N–no!" Luso quickly shook his head at the Bangaa's wry smile, his face reddening, "It's not that!"

As if to prove his point, Luso rummaged around inside his side pocket and pulled out the tomato stalks he had packed in earlier.

"Oho?" He took the stalks and scrutinized them. Giving an approving nod, he set them down on the counter and said, "Well, what do ye know? I've underestimated ye, boy."

"I'll be honest, I didn't really expect ye to be able to get one, let alone fifteen!" He laughed and slapped the boy on the back, "Yer a real surprise, aren't ye?"

"Aha..." Luso rubbed the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed by the blacksmith's praise. But his subconscious quickly snapped him back to his previous topic, "A–anyway! Do you know anything about that girl in here earlier?"

"Ye mean Adelle."He corrected, "Adelle is a pretty famous game hunter 'round these parts, takes on all the hunts and never disappoints. Did she help you get those stalks then? She did say something about helping people get their hunt do–"

"She's a thief!" Luso seethed, throwing his hands out in front of him theatrically, "She just came in from out of nowhere and stole an alraune drill while we were fighting!"

"Ah...I see." The Bangaa shook his head and grinned, "Yer forgetting a very famous saying about hunts, boy. A very important one."

"What is it?" Luso asked, a little ticked off at the blacksmith's frivolous demeanor.

"'All's free if ye steal. If!...Ye make it out of there alive'." With that, the Bangaa threw his head back and laughed loudly, "Ye got hoodwinked, boy! Better be more careful about who ye choose for yer teammates next time, eh?"

He began to laugh again while Luso could only stare at him, agape. The Bangaa stood back up and slapped Luso on the back consolingly.

"Ach, don't worry boy." He said, "Ye'll have to learn from yer mistakes, eh?"

"..."

"Well, then how about this?" He took out a slip of paper from his pocket, the same one that Adelle had given him earlier, "This is the hunt that Adelle said she was gonna go and take. Why don't ye go and give her yer greetings?"

He handed the paper over to Luso. It read: 'Help! Weapon stolen by an adamantite!'

"It's a simple enough mission, don't ye think?" The blacksmith rested his head on his hand, "This buffoon tried to slay an adamantite by the name of Ugohr, and somehow managed to get his sword stuck inside his shell. Ye should've seen the look on his face when he came in here, asking for another sword."

"What did you say to him?" Luso queried.

"I said many things." He grinned, "But I'll give ye the gist of it."

He raised up his hand to Luso's forehead and flicked his fingers hard. Luso stumbled backwards, rubbing his forehead painfully. The blacksmith snorted and placed his hands on his waist.

"I told him, if he was to get a new weapon here, then he better break his old one first. And from what I've heard from him, that sword is still intact. Albeit inside an adamantite."

"S–so..." Luso stuttered, trying to talk over the pain inside his head, "She's going to go and hunt this...uh...adamantite?"

"Tomorrow morning, most likely. She didn't want to do it tonight."

"So she'll be going to this...uh, Baptiste Hill place and hunting this turtle looking thing?" He tapped the crude sketch of a turtle on the paper.

"Must ye always sound like some sort of newbie to everything." The blacksmith chuckled and threw a few clumps of coal into his furnace. The flames flared up as the black rocks were consumed.

"Yer right though. If yer really gonna go and try to catch her, I'd suggest waking up early tomorrow and heading there. Kill off the hunt before she gets there, ye know."

"...hey, that's not a bad idea!" Luso said enthusiastically, "I better go back and tell everyone, they might be interested too!"

Happily, he rolled up the hunt request and stuck it in his pocket. Thanking the blacksmith, he was just about to turn and leave when he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Hold on boy, you can't leave before I give you yer reward!" The blacksmith spun Luso around. He took out a sheathed sword from behind his counter and shoved it into Luso's arms.

"Eh? Reward?"

"For the hunt! I did promise ye a reward, didn't I?" The blacksmith answered. He pointed at the hilt of the sword, "Why don't ye unsheathe it and give it a look? Ye won't be disappointed, for sure!"

Luso nodded and unlatched the small hook that secured the sword to the sheath. Drawing it, he was surprised at how long the sword was. It was almost twice the length of his broadsword, which was already pretty long itself. Amazingly though, this sword felt as though it only had half the weight of the broadsword.

Luso gave it a few test swings, and marveled at how much easier it was to handle. In fact, he felt slightly nostalgic as he swung it, as if he had used this sword in the past.

"Of course." The blacksmith replied as the boy relayed his thoughts to him, "That longsword was made from the remains of yer old shortsword. I took the metal and purified it. Grating off that rust and restrengthening it until it was capable of being used in another sword."

"Really? This was made from that sword I had before?" He ran his fingers across the flat of the blade, as if reacquainting himself to an old friend.

"It's yer reward for finishing that hunt for me. Ye can keep that broadsword too, as part of our bargain, eh?"

"Thank you so much, Mr. Blacksmith!" He resheathed the sword and bowed low, his hat slipping off his head and landing onto the floor.

The blacksmith picked it up and glanced at it, then looked back at the boy's clothes.

"Perhaps ye ought to clean yerself before ye go to sleep today." Luso straightened himself and glanced down. His clothes were still glowing with the alraune's greenish blood. "Ye look like some sort of strange creature with all that green on ye."

"Ahahaha..."

He rubbed the back of his neck, only to find that even his neck was sticky as well.

* * *

Tossing the sack of tomato stalks in front the Seeq's feet, Cid leaned against a chimney and watched the Seeq reach for it with trembling hands.

"T–this!" He sputtered, drool was flowing out the side of his mouth like a waterfall, "Freshly picked, organically grown...UTTERLY DELICIOUS TOMATO STALKS!"

With that loud exclamation, the rotund Seeq tossed himself on to the bag and began to messily throw the green, leafy stalks into his mouth with wild abandon. Repulsed, Cid averted his eyes and covered his ears so he wouldn't have to see or hear the disgusting sight.

"Grrrpppghh!!" He let out a loud belch as he finished his snacking. Plopping himself down on his rear, his stomach bulged as he loosened his belt to give it more space. "Aaah, that was delicious! Many thanks to you, Master Cid. Burrrrrpgh..."

Cid covered his face with his hand as he shook his head. He mentally made a note to bash his head against a wall repeatedly to eject this memory from his brain. The Seeq disgustingly picked out an obtrusive piece of a stalk out in between his teeth, glanced at it for a second, and licked it up.

"Ribs, enough." Cid urged, his face turning slightly green, "I came for information, not a display of your eating habits."

"Ahh, gotcha, gotcha." The Seeq grinned widely as he picked up the sack and stuck it in his belt. "What is it that you wish to know, Master Cid?"

"...It's about _them_." Cid said in a low, ominous voice. Instantly, Ribs' previously jovial demeanor gave away to one of seriousness. Walking over to the edge of the rooftop, Ribs glanced warily at the streets below.

In a voice that was no louder than a whisper, the streetear spoke, "..._them?_ Why do you want to know about _them?_"

"A precaution. You and I both know about the danger I am in for just being here." Cid crossed his arms and his expression hardened, "So tell me everything you know about_ them_ since I was gone. Movements, actions, rumors, anything."

"That impossible, Master Cid." Ribs shook his head in reply, "You and I both know how _they_ work. Total, complete secrecy. There would be no way for a streetear–even a great one like me–would be able to garner any facts about _them_."

"Pity." Cid scratched his head and sighed in disappointment. Ribs turned around and stared at the Revgaji.

"I'm surprised." The Seeq frowned, "I didn't really expect to ever see you again after you disappeared that day. You were left for dead, weren't you?"

"Aye." Cid pulled down the neckline of his shirt, revealing a small, circular wound on his chest. It was just a few inches to the right of where his heart would be, "'twas a lucky day that they did not check if whether or not I was still alive...or not."

Ribs walked forward and examined the wound. It was only a few centimeters large, not even half the size of the Seeq's finger.

"...How did you survive?" Ribs asked in a tense whisper, "A wound like this, even if it didn't hit your heart, is still a fatal wound. You would've died of blood loss or infection."

In response, Cid held his hand out in front of him. A small white glow enveloped the top of his palm. In a few seconds, the glow dissipated and left a small silver card in it's place. It hovered gently atop his palm, displaying a strange, three–pronged symbol.

"A...Judge Card?" Ribs gasped. He gaped at the small card in his hand, "I was joking before...but you really did form a clan?"

"Aye." He flipped the card over. Several lines dotted the back of the card, each apparently supposed to hold the name of a clan member. Despite this, only one name was written down on the card.

"How can you call this a clan..." Ribs frowned at the sight of the empty spaces, "...When you are the only member?"

"They do not need to be involved in my affairs." Cid responded automatically, "I've had them all sign a falsified card. If I am to be caught again, then at least _they_ will not be able to catch them as well."

"But...how did you form a clan at that time?" Ribs questioned earnestly, "I was there! I saw the state that you were in! You were lying on the ground, bleeding and barely breathing!"

Cid closed his fist on the card, making it disappear in a scattering of white sparks. He raised up his clenched fist, staring intently at it.

"I was nearly dead, as you said." He opened his fist again. A single silvery spark lingered in his palm. "At that time...I was furious. I couldn't do anything, and was dispatched with one shot. I was cursing my ineptitude as I lied there, unable to do a thing...unable to even escape with my life intact."

"But...as I opened my eyes for what I thought to be the last time...I saw something. A pair of silver grieves, a large...circular sword."

Instantly, the image of a judge appeared inside the Seeq's mind. A golem made from the most powerful and ancient of magicks. Created to uphold the law and oversee all engagements in the land of Jylland. Clad in indefatigable silver armor and armed with the great Sword of Judgement, a judge is that truly rules the land.

"That judge kneeled down in front of my dying body and gave me a choice." Cid gazed up at the night sky as he repeated the judge's words, "'_Do you wish to continue living? Or do you wish to forget your suffering? Will you swear an oath and lead a clan? Or will you die here like a ill–begotten dog? Will you form an oath with me or will you allow yourself to rot?'_"

"So you agreed to the judge's oath?" Ribs goggled at the Revgaji's tale, "And formed a clan...just to survive?"

"Being in a clan means...partial immortality." Cid explained with difficulty, gripping the part of his shirt where the wound lied beneath, "You cannot be killed...but that is as far as it goes."

"I know that much..." Ribs rubbed his temple, "But...what will you do now? You're in the same boat as I am–no, you're in a worse state. You're not just a freelancing informant like me, you're a deserter–a traitor!"

Ribs grabbed onto Cid's arm with his hands, giving him a look of honest concern, "If you are found out to be alive, _they_ will hunt you down like wolves to a hare! You know what _they _do to traitors and people that know about _them!_"

"I know." He shook off the Seeq's arm and turned towards the path down the roof, "I am aware of the danger. The protection of the judge means nothing to them..._they _might even prefer it that way."

He materialized the card again and gave it a long stare. His lonely name glowed in the dim light of the moon.

"But that means nothing to me. There is something I must do. I have been given a second chance, and I do not mean to waste it."

He turned back around and looked at his old friend. In his face...no, behind his expression lied a large fire. A fire of determination, a burning desire for revenge. Ribs knew this expression, as well as the reason behind it.

"...It's all for Rancorius, am I right?"

* * *

**A/N:** I have officially reached a new low when it came to having technical difficulties with writing. Pressing the goddamn "Discard" button by accident while saving. Oh god, I have never felt so bad before in my entire life. About 60% of the chapter had to be rewritten, gutting nearly half of the original ideas I had for it. Argh, so much headaches and frustration. Just thinking about it now makes a cloud of depression wash over me. Argh.

**Character Notes:**

**Name: Melanee Solus  
**

**Age: 17  
**

**Job: White Mage**

**Race: Viera/Hume**

**Personality:** **Shy, unobtrusive. Almost polite to a fault.**

**Notable Skills: Has had received advanced white mage training from Dr. Ocktor.  
**

**Posessions: A red, carrot shaped pendant from her older sister. A bottle containing two pieces of Cactus Fruit.  
**

**Equipment:**

** -****White Staff  
**

** -****Nothing**

** -****White Robe  
**

** -****Red Necklace  
**

** -****Nothing**

**Trivia: Notably, most Viera names in Ivalice only uses 4 letters. Melanee is exempt from this rule due to her unique situation, being the daughter of a Hume and a Viera. Her sister on the other hand, is a full-blooded Viera, and had left Targ Wood many years before Melanee did. Melanee's father raised her until he died of mysterious causes, and she was subsequently adopted by Dr. Ocktor, who trained her in the white arts at her behest.****  
**


	12. Reverse Ambush

**The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2**

* * *

**Chapter 11: **"Reverse Ambush"

Grass crunched noisily underneath her feet as she strolled through the glade with light steps. Taking in the fresh, morning air, she stretched herself out and gave an impressive yawn. A small hint of a smile on her face, she straightened herself up and brushed her silvery hair behind her back. Placing her hands on her hip, she looked straight toward at her mark.

A large, green turtle–like creature was lying underneath the shade of a tree, sleeping. It's shell appeared to have been made from a series of massive shield–like scales. Yet, despite the shell's formidable appearance, a long sword was protruding from out of the turtle's back like a sharp, metallic flagpole.

"My, what a beautiful sword you have there," Adelle slowly drew the two daggers tied on her belt and assumed a battling stance, "Of course, I'll be taking it."

"No hard feelings now!"

She tore off towards the adamantite, both of her blades poised to cut at a moment's notice. Licking her lips, Adelle crouched down, ready to do another one of her trademark high–jump strikes. However, her foot did not leave the ground as she expected.

"Huh?" She looked down. Her feet–that is, her boots–were stuck firmly on the grass. Adelle strained to pull her leg up, but it was futile. The girl was stuck to the ground like a magnet.

She took a quick glance at the sleeping turtle, sighing in relief at the sight of the turtle still asleep. She narrowed her eyes, and bent down to inspect her feet. Surrounding her boots was a great amount of thick, whitish liquid. The girl took a twig and gingerly poked it.

As expected, the twig became stuck in the liquid and couldn't be pulled free.

"Cloudy Sap?!" Adelle exclaimed indignantly, "Who in the world would drop a vial of Cloudy Sap in the middle of a field?"

A loud snort came from beside her. Adelle quickly turned her head and glared at the source.

From where she was staring, a heavily tattooed Bangaa came walking out from behind a tree, immediately followed by a group of similarly tattooed warriors, numbering five in total. He took one glance at the trapped girl and began to laugh.

"Hehaheha!" The tattooed Bangaa laughed, " We finally caught up to you! Adelle the Cat!"

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" Adelle replied irritatedly. The tattooed Bangaa instantly stopped laughing and glared angrily at her.

"Don't play dumb girly! You know who we are!"

"Are you sure?" She shrugged cluelessly, "I have never seen your ugly mug before in my entire life."

"Why you...!" He stomped the ground angrily, and the Bangaa warriors behind him mimicked the action, "How dare you forget the face of the Leader of the Camoa Braves?!"

Adelle shrugged again, this time out of spite.

"If I have ever seen a face that horrid before, then I would definitely want to forget it as fast as possible. So will you please stop staring at me?"

"Do you know your situation here, Cat?" He growled, placing a hand on his sword, "You're under the mercy of Lacertus the Strong! Your life is in my hands!"

"Then will you please release my life from your hands?" She replied mockingly, "I don't even know what I have done to infuriate you."

He took a few steps forwards and stood in front of Adelle. Drawing his sword, Lacertus stuck the point against the underside of the girl's chin.

"Let me remind you then," He hissed in a low voice, "Last week, our clan was out in Bisga for a hunt. A terrible battle against a group of Ahrimans, with massive losses on both sides. And just as I was about to slay the last Eye, you appeared from out of nowhere and slain it with one slice!"

"And not only that, you had stolen all the Ahriman wings we collected as proof of the hunt! Leaving us with nothing but a group of bodies filled with wounds!"

Adelle thought back to the previous week. What the tattooed Bangaa said was completely true, she had crashed into the midst of their hunt and stole all their loot, along with several gil pouches and various magickal items they had carried on them. Despite the direness of the situation she was in, Adelle couldn't help but smile at the memory.

"You dare smirk at our misfortune?!" Naturally, Lacertus was indignant at her reaction, "Well, it matters no more! Your thieving ways will end here!"

Lacertus swung his sword back, about to cut the girl's head off with one swift slash. Behind him, his group of warriors cheered and urged him on. Adelle only stared back at the Bangaa's face defiantly. She secretly reversed her grip on her Zwillblade, and waited patiently for the sword to come.

"Goodbye! Adelle the Cat!" He grabbed onto the hilt with both hands and swung it at her head.

She swung up her Zwillblade, expecting to catch the sword in it's horizontal arc before it cleaved her in two. But...

"Ungaaaaaaaah!" Lacertus was suddenly knocked aside by a brown blur. He dropped his sword and fell onto the ground with a heavy thump.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw her savior stand up and dust himself off. He replaced his red hat back on his head and quickly ran over to where she was.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Well, she didn't exactly expect this to happen, but it worked out for her just fine.

"Good morning, Luso."

* * *

"Gah!" Lynd quickly drew his sword and glared at the boy, "What has that boy done? We lost our surprise advantage now!"

"No matter, just get down there and save him before he gets surrounded!" Cid commanded, leaping out from behind a tree. He stomped hard on the ground and whistled at the Bangaas in front of him, calling their attention away from the boy. Right when they turned around, Cid felled one with a swift right hook to the jaw.

"Nice one!" Lynd yelled as he swung his sword at another one, who–luckily–managed to block it in the nick of time. Pulling back, Lynd grasped the hilt of his sword with both hands and swung it powerfully in a wide horizontal slash. The warrior quickly held up his sword to block it, but the force behind the swing was more than he could handle. He was knocked aside, and his sword was sent spinning into the air.

Immediately after their fellow warriors were taken out, the remaining three warriors quickly stepped back and drew their swords. Lynd shouldered his blade and sauntered over to Cid, who was busy dusting his hands.

"Heh. At first, I thought that setting a trap for a little girl would've been a colossal waste of time."

He pulled down his sword and faced the three glaring Bangaas.

"But I didn't expect to fight the Camoa Braves here, what luck!" He grinned broadly, "That brawl in the pub yesterday only whet my tongue. Now this is what I've been waiting for!"

Cid only sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. _What a fighting fanatic..._

He glanced over at Luso; he was busy trying to pull the girl free from the trap they had set themselves.

Originally, they had arrived at the Sun Dappled Trail early in the morning with the intention of ambushing the thief and taking back the stolen drill, because of that, Edyal had specially purchased a vial of Cloudy Sap and spread it around the field as a snare. The rest of them hid around the perimeter, lying in wait until their mark had made her appearance.

Unfortunately, they didn't expect that another group was targeting her as well. Especially one with such an immense killing intent.

After seeing the leader try to execute the thief, Luso suddenly broke his cover and protected the girl.

_Well, I can't say I'm surprised at his reaction..._ Cid mused to himself, grinning slightly.

"Oy, Cid." Lynd called, pulling him out of his thoughts, "Why don't we hurry up and get rid of this rabble?"

"Aye, let's go." He drew his sword and faced the warriors.

* * *

"You brat–!" Lacertus roared, pulling himself up from the ground and glaring at the boy. "Who are you!?"

"I'm kinda getting tired of being called a brat all the time..." Luso mumbled as he tried to pull the girl free from the sticky trap, with little success.

Although he didn't really mean to tackle the guy, the sight of him trying to kill the girl riled his blood. The next thing he knew, he was jumping out from behind his rock and charging towards the Bangaa shoulder first.

"Hey, why are you helping me?" Adelle asked, watching him try to pull her feet free, "I thought you were angry with me for what I did?"

"Yeah, and I still am." Luso replied, "But I can't just sit still when I see someone attacking someone who can't fight back!"

"Is that so?" Adelle looked away. Deciding that it would be better to not tell him that she could indeed have fought back against the Bangaa in that situation. She lifted up a finger, diverting his attention away from her feet, "You might want to pay attention behind you."

"Eh?" He turned around. A scaly fist slammed into the side of his cheek, sending him flying away from the girl's side.

He skidded on the ground for a few seconds before stopping and pulling himself up. Taking a step forward, he drew his longsword and charged at the Bangaa.

"Hrrah!" He swung his sword down as soon as he got within striking distance. Lacertus parried the blow and ducked underneath Luso's arms.

"And who do you think you are?!" He yelled as he knocked Luso backwards with a headbutt to the stomach, "Don't get in the way of our revenge!"

Luso landed on all fours and scrambled to get back up. He readied his longsword again for another charge at the tattooed Bangaa.

"I'm Luso Clemens!" He yelled as he swiped with his longsword again, "And I'm not going to let you hurt her!"

"And what are you to that thief?" Lacertus replied while blocking his slash, "Her paladin or something?"

Luso spun around and aimed a stab at Lacertus' side. He quickly sidestepped and responded with a fast overhead swing. Luso only managed to dodge it by ungainly throwing himself to the side. He landed on his chest and accidentally dropped his longsword.

"Shoot!" Luso scrambled to push himself up from his vulnerable position, attempting to reach for his fallen longsword. Suddenly, he heard the sharp whistle of a falling blade ring out from somewhere above him. Instinctively, he rolled away, and as a result, Lacertus' sword slammed down into the soft earth instead.

"Hold still, you little brat!" Lacertus pulled his sword out of the dirt and swung it at the boy again.

Clang!

"Wha–?"

"Too bad!" Luso pushed back the Bangaa's sword with his broadsword and slashed him across the chest in one fast motion. Lacertus retreated back a few steps, clutching his wound and glaring daggers at Luso.

"Two swords?!" He said angrily, "You sneaky little bastard!"

_It was lucky that the blacksmith let me keep this one as well. _Luso thought as he stood back up, raising his broadsword. He glanced over at where his longsword had fallen; right behind Lacertus. _If I run fast, I might be able to make it there, but he might be able to attack me while I am running. Agh, what should I d–_

"HGRRREEEEEEERRRRGHHHH!"

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud, inhuman roar. Lacertus, Luso and Adelle all quickly turned their heads to see what made the noise.

The adamantite had woken up.

* * *

Lynd blocked a slash from one of the warriors and backhanded another with his free hand. The warrior quickly untangled himself from the bladelock and helped his friend up. Both of them quickly charged towards the single Bangaa, swords ready to cut him down.

"You're all idiots~!" Lynd provoked as he stared down the two warriors. The warriors glared angrily at him as they heard his insult, and as a result, began to run faster. Lynd simply stayed where he was, grinning expectantly.

When the two had reached Lynd, they raised their swords over their heads. Swinging down in a massive vertical arc, the two swords fell like guillotines as the two Bangaas attacked at the same time.

"Nice try, but you're too slow!" Right before the two blades reached him, Lynd swung his sword in a horizontal slash. Once he had finished his sweep, the air around them appeared to undulate and warp. The warriors' eyes widened as they saw their swords freezing in the air, being held up by a powerful gust of wind.

"_Air Render!_" Lynd shouted, and instantly, the wind that was surrounding them expanded. The warriors were knocked back by the powerful explosion of air and fell back, their swords went spinning into the air like twin windmills.

Lynd snorted as he watched the two of them struggle to get up from the blow. Sheathing his own sword, he turned around and scanned the perimeter to find Cid.

"_Body Slam!_" Burning with a familiar flaming aura, Cid tackled the warrior down with his shoulder. The Bangaa flew an absurd distance before finally slamming headlong into a tree. Taking a dead breath, the flaming aura around Cid dissipated. He walked over and inspected the damage.

"All...hail...the...Braaaaaaves..." The Bangaa was knocked senseless by the impact. Cid rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't mean to place so much force behind his tackle.

Cid propped him up against the tree and turned back around. Lynd gave him a thumbs up and waved. His joy was shortlived, however. He was suddenly tackled down onto the ground by the last Bangaa in the troupe.

The warrior drew his sword, and pointed it at the back of Lynd's head, planning on stabbing him right in the skull. Right when he pulled his arm back however...

"_Gales of ice! Encage my foe in a chilly prison!_"

A sudden cold gust blew past the two Bangaas, surrounding them in a cage of icy air. The temperature around them dropped harshly, until both Lynd's and the warrior's teeth were chattering. A thick layer of ice began to form on their bodies.

Edyal calmly walked out from her hiding spot, swinging her staff around her like a conductor's baton, making trails of snow–like particles fly from the tip. She pointed the staff at the two freezing Bangaas and shouted.

"_Blizzard!_"

A shattering noise, sounding as if someone had broken a large pane of glass. The two Bangaas, and the area surrounding them, were suddenly encased in a massive stalagmite made of ice. Frozen in their poses, they resembled a pair of rather strange looking statues. Edyal tapped the glassy surface with her staff, testing it's hardness. She stifled a laugh at Lynd's surprised expression.

"Hm...not bad for my first time using this sort of magick." She took out a small piece of parchment and a quill, "I better take a few notes on how to control it, for future reference."

"Edyal..." Cid said exasperatedly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"My apologies, Cid." Edyal waved away his hand, "I still lack control over this type of magick, although...I am rather pleased with this result."

Cid sighed and held his forehead with his hand.

* * *

"Whhgaaah!" Luso was tossed into the air by the rampaging turtle's charge. He landed hard on the ground near Adelle. He scrambled to pick himself up, only to be knocked down by the gigantic turtle again.

Shortly after knocking Luso down, the adamantite turned it's attention towards Lacertus. With a speed completely unfitting it's appearance, it managed to crash straight into the tattooed warrior's body, blowing him clear across the glade. The adamantite reared up it's head and let loose another loud roar.

"Ah great..." Adelle watched the turtle–like creature stamp it's foreleg on Luso's back, pinning him down, "All that yelling and shouting must've woke it up. This is going to complicate things."

Sighing hopelessly, she raised up her Zwillblade. Bending down slightly, she placed the finely honed edge of the dagger against the soles of her boots.

With a quick slash, she cleaved the thick soles into two halves, with the bottom half still stuck in the sap. Taking care not to step in the gunk again, Adelle nimbly leapt off her soles and landed on the grass. She tapped her now–shorter boots on the ground and frowned.

"My poor Galmia Pepe boots..." Her expression hardened and she held up a clenched fist. "I'll have to ask those _Camoa Cowards_ for compensation!"

The silver haired girl turned around and faced the rampaging turtle. She drew her Khukri and held it in her off–hand, wielding both daggers at once. Placing two fingers in her mouth, she blew her distinctive high–pitched whistle to draw the adamantite's attention away from stamping the poor red–capped boy into dust.

"Hgrrr?" It turned it's head around, and in that instant, Adelle pounced. Spinning both her daggers, she deftly reversed her grip on both and delivered two quick cuts on the beast's face.

"HGRREEEEEEEEEEEERGH!" It reared up from the pain of the attack. Taking this chance, Adelle quickly dashed under it and picked up Luso. She pulled him out from under the adamantite right before it crashed down on it's forelegs again.

"Agh," She groaned slightly, "You're heavy! Aren't boys like you supposed to be light weight?"

"Oof! Who are you calling a boy?!" Luso shot back, trying to free himself from her grip, "You don't look much older than I am!"

"Oh, stop struggling!" She replied, giving him a quick bop over the head, "And go pick up your sword! That adamantite won't hold still for long!"

She dropped him nonchalantly on the ground and quickly leapt away, keeping both of her blades out. Luso pulled himself up and rushed over to where his broadsword was dropped.

"Dammit, I lost track of where my longsword fell!" Luso picked up his broadsword and looked around. A small glint of silver from behind the adamantite's legs caught his eye, "Aha!"

He dashed around the adamantite, giving it a wide berth. This did not go unnoticed, and the tutrle quickly turned around and roared at him. It began to paw the ground with it's forelegs, readying itself for a charge.

"Hey, don't look away!" Adelle dashed next to the adamantite's face and swung her arm around her, cutting the side of the adamantite's cheek with her Zwillblade. Unfortunately, the cut was too shallow and the adamantite simply knocked her away by swinging it's head towards her.

Luckily, her distraction gave enough time for Luso to reach his longsword. Swapping his broadsword to his left hand, he picked up the longsword in his right.

"Agh!" He nearly fell over from the combined weight of both swords, "Okay, holding two big swords in each hand...bad idea!" He quickly sheathed his broadsword and held the longsword with both hands.

He faced the adamantite and dashed towards it. He raised his sword and brought it down–hard–on the adamantite's back.

"Are you an idiot?" Adelle shouted as she watched his attack bounce off the shell uselessly, "Why in the world are you attacking it's shell for? Aim for the head!"

"I wish you could've told me that earlier!" Luso righted himself ad he landed on the ground, raising his sword again for another strike. Unfortunately, the adamantite wasn't about to give him another chance.

It suddenly opened it's mouth wide. The shield–like scales on it's bad began to clack together noisily as it began to vibrate intensely.

"_HGRIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!_"

A horrible noise came billowing out of it's throat like a tidal wave. Shockwaves of sound emitted from the adamantite's body and blasted through the entire glade, even knocking several small trees backwards and shaking up the larger ones.

"Aaaaagh!" Luso could feel the powerful shockwave blow past him, but that wasn't what was hurting him. His longsword, which he was holding in front of him, was beginning to vibrate uncomfortably. His hands were becoming increasingly numb as he tried to hold on to the rapidly shaking sword.

"Dammit, it let out a Resonation!" Adelle shouted as she quickly dropped both daggers onto the ground and covered her ears. Her own hands were also badly numbed by her own weapons and couldn't stop trembling.

"I didn't think I had to resort to this, but!" Adelle stood her ground against the shockwaves and extended her right hand forwards. Her golden eyes began to glow a bright red as she glared at the screeching adamantite. She opened her mouth and began to speak in a low voice.

"_Billowing from underneath the earth! Raze the greenery with searing flame!_"

From inside her shaking palm, a small red glowing orb materialized.

"_Burn with the heat of an inferno!_"

She clenched her hand and crushed the red orb, sending small burning sparks scattering all around her. When she opened her hand again, a full fledged flame had appeared, and was now raging inside her palm. She brought her arm back and prepared to throw it.

"_Fira!_"

With a powerful swing, she propelled the flame out of her hand and fired it towards the adamantite. It carved a burning red trail as it traveled through the air. The burning flame tore through the onslaught of shockwaves and struck the adamantite squarely on the shell.

Instantly, the flame burst in an immense, fiery explosion. Fire raged all over the top of the adamantite, consuming it's entire shell in flame. Ultimately, however, the fire did little to pierce the tough defense of the turtle's shell, and quickly went out, revealing next to no damage to the adamantite at all.

"And you were just telling me to not attack the shell!" Luso shouted at her sarcastically.

"Oh shut up, you try casting magick in a situation like this!" Adelle yelled back indignantly.

Luckily, the sudden explosion of fire on the adamantite's back had managed to shock it enough to prevent it from screeching any longer. It turned it's head over to glare at it's attacker. The adamantite opened it's mouth again and prepared to attack with another screech. Taking this chance, Luso grasped the handle of his longsword the best he could with his numbed fingers and ran towards the distracted adamantite.

"Hyaaaaaaagh!" He raised his longsword high overhead and swung it down with all his strength. With his longsword still vibrating from the adamantite's screech, it managed to cleave straight through the tough beast's head as if it was made of butter. The adamantite's head fell off it's severed neck and rolled away, it's mouth still wide open.

Exhausted, Luso dropped his longsword and fell back onto his his butt. His hands were at their limit, he didn't know if he could even make a fist now.

"Ouch!" Nope, he couldn't. Despite this, he began to laugh elatedly. He just managed to defeat a gigantic turtle Just wait until Cid hears about this!

Adelle also dropped onto the ground, giving a loud sigh of relief. She rubbed the sweat off her forehead and glanced at her right hand. The skin on her palm appeared to be slightly darker, charred from her amateurish attempt at casting magick, "Tch..."

She looked up to see how the boy was doing, _...What is he laughing about? What a weirdo. All he did was cut that adamantite's head off, nothing to be proud about! _Feeling strangely angry, she contemplated shooting a fireball at him to stop his laughing, until she saw something loom up from behind him.

"Luso!" She shouted urgently, "Watch out behind you!"

"Huh?" Luso looked up. A thin, silver line was dangling above his face, and a shadowy silhouette of a Bangaa.

"Hehaheha! Hiding while you brats finished off that adamantite turned out to be a good idea after all!" Lacertus chuckled. He was holding his sword point–first above Luso's face, ready to stab down at a moment's notice, "Now that the damn shelling is out of the way, I can finish you off without any distractions! And then I can move on to taking out that damn Cat!"

With a loud cry, he thrust his sword down. Luso instinctively closed his eyes.

"...Luso, what are you doing?"

"Eh?"

He opened his eyes. Two, large red fingers were holding the sword point from turning his head into a shish–kabob.

"Cid!" Luso swiftly rolled out of danger's path and pushed himself up. Cid was standing beside Lacertus, holding his sword with nothing but his fingers. He sighed and scratched his head with his other hand.

"Really, Luso? You cleave an adamantite's head off and yet, you allow someone to try and pierce your head?" He berated with a slight tone of humor in his voice, "You're right. I do have to start training you again."

"Who are you?" Lacertus demanded, trying to wrench his sword free from the Revgaji's grasp. "Don't get in my way!"

"I'm sorry, but that is impossible." Cid effortlessly flicked the Bangaa's sword away. Lacertus became wide – eyed as he watched his sword spin multiple times in the air before sticking into the dirt a few feet away.

"I can't let you try and hurt my clan member like that." He balled up his fist, and a small red glow began to envelop it. "It wouldn't look good on me, the leader of this clan!"

One swift, burning uppercut, and Lacertus was sent flying. He landed on his head and flopped down next to his sword. He fell unconscious with his tongue lolling out and his eyes spinning.

Blowing a remnant of the red flame away from his fist, Cid extended a hand to help Luso up.

"Wow..." Awed, Luso allowed himself to be pulled up as he stared at the KO'd Bangaa. "What was that, Cid?"

"This?" He pumped his fist up, "Just your everyday enhancement magick. Nothing special."

"Can I learn a thing like that?" Luso asked eagerly.

"Aye, but I suggest you go ask Edyal about it. She knows more about magick than I do."

He patted Luso on the head and laughed.

"Oh...and before I forget." Cid suddenly drew his sword and turned around. He pointed it at the exhausted girl on the ground. "You there. Cough it up."

"Cough what up, pray tell?" Adelle replied, glaring right back at him fearlessly, "I haven't eaten much this morning, so I might have to warn you that there isn't much in me to 'cough up'."

"Funny, but you know what I mean." Cid's eyes narrowed, "You owe us a massive debt! You stole that drill from us! And that means you practically pilfered around a few thousand gil!"

She cupped her chin with her hand and tilted her head, apparently trying to remember what he was talking about. After a few minutes of thinking (which only served to fuel Cid's already–rising anger), she finally clapped her hands together and gave a small "oh!" as a sign that she remembered.

"_That _drill? Well, there's a slight problem with your request." She pointed at the two soles lying in the puddle of sap. "I've used all the gil I got from selling the drill to buy these boots, and now these boots are ruined as well, so..."

"You...used it all...?" Cid gaped in disbelief, "You...used up...thousands...of...g..."

He held up two trembling hands and began to shakily count his fingers. Apparently, the idea of one girl being able to spend thousands of gil was incomprehensible to him.

"There's no point in robbing a gil–less girl such as I, no?" She said, raising both of her hands up as a sign of defeat, "But how about a deal?"

"A deal?"

She nodded and pointed to the fainted Lacertus behind Luso, "As you can see, I seem to have made some enemies for some reason."

_I think the reason is obvious, you know..._ Luso thought to himself.

"So, this is my deal." She stood up and placed a hand on her chest, "I'll join your clan and work off my 'debt' as a clan member. And in return, you provide protection for me if I ever get targeted by any unscrupulous individuals like that Bangaa over there."

"What?!" Cid and Luso exclaimed together.

"I don't think of it as a bad idea, don't you think?" She drew both of her daggers and struck a pose, "You get an extra body to help you out with whatever you need done, and I get a bunch of bodies to help me whenever I get attacked! It's a win–win situation!"

"Rrrghh..." Cid scratched his head as he attempted to reach a decision within his own mind. Either hire the thief and probably make back his gil, or forget her and abandon all hope of getting thousands and thousands of gil back.

"So, do we have a deal?" She held out a hand for a shake.

In the end, Cid's inner desire for his gil to return overpowered his better judgement. He grasped her small hand, albeit grudgingly, and agreed to the deal. Breaking the handshake, Adelle clapped her hands together enthusiastically.

"Then it's done! Good to meet you, clan leader!" She turned her head over to look at Luso, and smiled at him, "And you too, Luso! I hope we can cooperate in the future."

"Yeah...hey, wait!" A sudden realization hit Luso, "I've never told you my name before! How did you know?"

"Oh, hm..." The silver–haired girl pointed at his side pocket, "I took the liberty of learning your name from your little diary there."

"W–what?!"

She took a few steps away and replied with a wide smile, "You know, writing in the margins of books is a very rude act. Remind me to never lend you any of my books!" The cat–like thief giggled began to walk away nonchalantly.

"Hey, wait!" Luso shouted as he began to chase after her.

Cid scratched the back of his neck as he watched Adelle deftly dodge Luso's tackle, and swiping his hat away from him at the same time.

_ I wonder if I made the right choice...?_

He strode over to the slain adamantite and withdrew the sword embedded in its shell.

* * *

**A/N: **Dual wielding two large swords isn't a very intelligent idea. Have fun nursing sore muscles and/or breaking your arms. Also, small little disrepancies between this chapter and actual mission it's based on (Wanted: Ugohr). First: Ugohr is actually a 'Great Tortoise' type enemy that doesn't have that distinctive sword stuck in it's back, second: Great Tortoises don't learn Resonate, and third: Adamantites are actually called Adamantians...and they don't have any of the attacks I've written here. All of these traits are actually relegated to the final type, the Toughskin.

Why did I decide to point this out? I hate plotholes.


	13. Information

**The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2**

* * *

**Chapter 13: **"Information"

"You're telling me that this clan has no name?"

Adelle flipped the silver card over in her hand and glanced at the large blank on the top where the name of a clan would typically go. Cid scowled and snatched the card out of her hands.

"And what's wrong with that?" He stuck it inside his pocket and crossed his arms, "I am sure several clans all over Jylland lack names."

"Well, I assumed that this clan would've had a name, seeing as how strong you are." She gave a small shrug and turned around. Edyal crossed her arms and frowned. She edged towards Cid and nudged him with her staff.

"Why are we taking her along with us?" She asked in a low voice, keeping a wary eye on the silver–haired thief, "She is a thief, is she not?"

"She'll be with us until she has paid back all the gil she has stolen from us." Cid replied in a curt voice.

"And how much is that? I do not remember you ever telling us about how much gil the alraune drill would've fetched."

"Oh, I would assume somewhere around in the thousands."

"So she will be working for us until she has made back an unspecified amount of gil; which you assume to be somewhere up in the thousands?"

The Revgaji nodded. Edyal sighed and held her head with her hand, "Well, you're the leader, Cid. I have not found any reason to distrust your judgment so far."

"Don't worry," Cid pointed at the girl, who was currently showing off a fire spell to an impressed Luso, "From what I can gather, she is probably being hunted down by many, many people and clans for thievery. If she is in an adjudged clan like ours, then she has nothing to worry about, but if she is to continue her freelancer lifestyle, I would assume that she would have her throat slit in the middle of a dark night someday."

"Rather morbid, but you have a point." Edyal nodded and relented.

"...Don't you have something more important to worry about?" Cid glanced at Edyal, who looked up questioningly.

"What do you mean?"

Cid stopped and turned around. He raised his hand and pointed straight at the glimmering stalagmite behind them. Lynd was still frozen inside it, as if he was fossilized in ice.

"Oh, right." Edyal eagerly lifted her staff and began to chant a fire spell. Cid sighed and scratched the back of his neck. She appears to be enjoying herself a little too much.

* * *

"Whoa!" Luso stepped back cautiously, avoiding the fireball that just erupted in front of his face. Adelle laughed and swung it at him teasingly. He ducked while flattening his hat to avoid a fire hazard.

"You sound like you've never seen a fire spell before, Luso." She said with an amused tone, "Did you come from some sort of strange, backwater village?"

"Hey, watch it!" Luso nearly fell over as he bent back to dodge the fireball coming towards his chest.

"Then again, I'm sure even the most poorest village here in Jylland would have one or two people that know rudimentary magick." Adelle flicked the fireball away, letting it burst into bright yellow sparks in the air. "So maybe you're just stupid?"

"What do you mean stupid?" Luso shot back, offended, "How can I be stupid if I just don't know a few things? I can learn!"

"Huhu." Adelle chuckled and rummaged around inside her pockets, "Well, can you tell me what this is then?"

She pulled out a small yellow crystal, the same one she used the day before when they were fighting tomatoes.

"Um...uh..." Luso scratched his head, trying to recall what she had used it for, "I remember...you used it to uh...glow and disappear?"

"That's an interesting way to put it." She tossed the yellow jewel up and deftly caught it between her fingers, "It's a warp crystal, you've honestly never heard of a warp crystal before?"

"No?" Luso replied, feeling more and more stupid by the second, "What does it do?"

"Does what you would expect it to do. Warps you back to the town or city you bought it from."

"That sounds convenient." Luso commented, "I'm guessing you use it to make escapes whenever you steal something?"

Adelle grinned and replied by swiping Luso's hat off his head. She took a few steps back, holding it out in front of her like a shield.

"You underestimate me, Luso." She moved the hat out of the way of his flailing arms, "Yesterday was the only day where I actually used something like that. It's my personal belief that a good thief does not need to rely on tools to make their escapes."

"So what?" Luso replied, lunging forwards "A thief's a thief! What does it matter if you escape using a tool or not? You're still stealing! Now give back my hat!"

"Tsk, tsk." She sidestepped his lunge and let him fall to the ground with his arms flailing helplessly in the air, "Thieving is a noble art. You shouldn't look down upon it so easily, Luso."

"Rrrgh..." He pushed himself up from the dirt and lunged again. "Ha!"

"Whoops! Too slow!"

Adelle spun around and struck him sharply on the back with her elbow, knocking him back onto the road. She began to spin his hat on her index finger while watching him struggle to get back up again. While he was scrambling around on the ground, the clasp on his side pocket loosened and his notebook skittered out.

"Darn it!" Luso reached out and picked it up. He sat down on the ground, checking the notebook for any damages.

"You are quite attached to that book, aren't you?" Adelle asked, leaning over his shoulder.

"Of course I am! It's the only thing I have left to remember the world where I came from!"

"The world where you came fro–?" Adelle's question was suddenly silenced by a loud roar that erupted from behind them.

Right as soon as they turned their heads, a large deluge of ice pieces rained onto their faces, causing both of them to wince and cover themselves quickly.

"Ack, what's going on?" Luso exclaimed, attempting to block the shrapnel with the notebook's cover.

"Heck if I know! It's _your_ clan!"

* * *

Wiping a drop of water off his golden blond mustache, Cid wrinkled his brow and turned towards the similarly drenched Nu Mou beside him.

"When I said to get him out, I didn't mean for you to completely obliterate that boulder of an icicle." Cid grunted, spitting out a sizable shard of ice that he caught with his teeth.

Edyal didn't reply. All she did was pick up her hat from the ground and replace it atop her head, hiding the small grin on her face. Cid sighed and waded into the ice field and extricated the unconscious Bangaa from within.

"Well...at least he isn't suffering from frostbite." Cid heaved the Bangaa onto his shoulder and began to carry him away. Edyal followed suit.

"I'll be frank, I don't understand why you and Lynd have such a violent rivalry. It'd be my greatest wish to have you two stop jumping down each other's throats all the time, figuratively and literally."

"There is a few things you do not need to know, Cid." Edyal replied cryptically. "All I can tell you is that he deserves it all."

Cid sighed and shook his head, "I don't think I'd enjoy hearing the reason."

"You most likely would not." Responded Edyal, "I see the two children up ahead, shall we join them?"

"Don't see a reason why not."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside a certain private room in Camoa...

"Aaahehehehaa!" A loud, raucous laughter filled the small room. The pig-like Ribs nearly fell off his stool as he doubled up in laughter. "Well! What a surprise! I can't say I expected a drifter like you to actually come all the way to Camoa to seek me out! I'm flattered!"

Sitting opposite to the laughing Seeq was a man, his face was covered by a large hood. His clothes consisted of a couple frayed and tattered robes loosely slung over his body like a patchwork quilt. Although he was wearing a veritable amount of cloth, his torso was exposed, showing a large amount of bandages swathed around his stomach area. Several locks of jet black hair poked out from underneath the man's hood.

"You're pompous as they say, streetear." The man grinned, taking a swig from a mug. "I'm guessing you must be a regular riot at this tavern."

"Aaahehehehaa! You're incorrect there, stranger!" Ribs hoisted up his ever–present sack of tomato stalks and began to munch heartily, "That barman knows me a little too well. Why, if it wasn't for you. I wouldn't even be allowed in this place!"

"Oh? Why not?"

"Aah...it's quite a long story, you wouldn't be interested." He punctuated his statement with a loud smacking of his lips, "So! What do you want with me? A drifter like you wouldn't call out a streetear like me to this place unless you have something to ask."

"Straight to the point, huh? Works for me." The man shrugged and reached inside his traveling robes. After a moment of difficulty, the man extracted a small photograph from the folds of his clothing. He placed it down onto the table and slid it towards the Seeq.

"Hrrng?" Ribs set down his sack and leaned over to get a better look at the photo. "Hoo..ain't that a pretty face? Yer girlfriend or something?"

He held the photo up to the small lamp that was dangling above them. In the dim light, Ribs could make out the face of a young woman. Not just any woman, but a remarkably beautiful lady. Long, blue hair cascaded down her shoulders and created a frame around her face, giving it a regal atmosphere.

The man chuckled and held a hand up to his mouth, trying to hold his beverage inside. With his other hand, he shook his finger.

"Of course not." He replied after swallowing his drink. Ribs set the photo back down onto the table and grinned.

"Then what is this for?" Ribs asked, "Because I don't know who this woman is. If that is what you are asking me about."

"No, no. That isn't why I'm here."

"Then...?"

"I'm asking for a location. Or rather, the way to get to this location."

The man reached inside his robes again. This time, he retrieved a paper scroll, tied with a golden string and sealed with a fancy looking wax stamp. Ribs' eyes widened at the sight of this stamp.

"Ahh...eehhee? Isn't that the symbol of the Noble House of Beltory? Baron Beltory himself?"

"You're well informed." The man set down the scroll and began to unseal it. Peeling off the wax and untying the string. Ribs could only stutter to himself as he watched the gold–lined paper unfurl.

"Ahem..." The man picked up the scroll and began to read off the paper, "'_To Sir _...Hm, I'll omit this part, if you wouldn't mind..._ I shall reward you a hearty sum of 6,000,000 gil for this woman's safe return back to my mansion in Grazton by Rosefire. Her photo is provided. You may not request for help, however, you must not allow any living being to know who this woman is. I shall await your return by the end of Bloodfire. Signed, Baron Beltory.'_"

"Impossible..." The Seeq gaped at the raggedy man in front of him. "You were promised six million gil to find this woman?"

"Correct. However, as you can probably tell, this scroll is utterly worthless." The man said, lacing his words with disgust as he tossed the curled paper onto the table, "Much like the Baron himself."

"Hm..." The Seeq picked up the scroll and read off it. He nodded in agreement, "You're right, no information or reason at all. Only this request. Even your average hunt request would have more information than this."

The Seeq looked up and stared at the man, "Is that why you've decided to break this rule on the request?" He pointed at the sentence stating: _'You may not request for help.'_

The man raised up his arms in exasperation, "Naturally! How would anyone get anywhere with this useless scroll and a photo?" He lowered them and took another drink from his mug. Giving a small sigh, he shook himself and began to talk again.

"As soon as I've recieved this request, the first thing I've done was to frequent all of the taverns around in Grazton." The man explained, "Thankfully, I've managed to obtain a few nuggets of information. Unfortunately, the only real bit of help I ccould deduce from my information gathering was the location of this girl."

"And that is why you're here now? To ask me how to get to this location of yours?"

"Precisely."

The Seeq glanced back down at the paper, and then back up at the man's covered face. He frowned.

"One thing about this bothers me." Ribs said, still frowning.

"What is it?"

"Why would the great Baron Beltory himself ask a drifter like you?"

The man did not answer and shook his head. Ribs stared at him for a few seconds before giving a small snort.

"Ahh well!" He said jovially, "It's not in a streetear's policy to pry into their client's details. Aaahehehehaa!"

He clutched his grand belly and laughed. The man chuckled along with the Seeq.

"Well, then let's get this over with." He said, pulling out a quill and a piece of paper. "Do you know where the Ruins of Delgantua are?"

* * *

A little later on, after the Cid and company had returned to Camoa, Cid had rented several rooms in the local inn. He himself had left to the tavern to receive the reward for the hunt, while Edyal had stealthily disappeared after Lynd was taken up to his room to rest. Leaving only the two kids alone in the inn.

"So what happened to that Viera girl?" Adelle asked, untying her hair ribbon and loosening her hair, "Wasn't she traveling with you people?"

"She want back to Targ Wood this morning." Luso replied while laying out his two swords on the table. "She had to go and deliver something to a doctor there."

"Oh, what a pity." Adelle said, now removing her gloves and throwing them on top of Luso's swords. "I would've enjoyed talking with her."

Luso grunted and removed the girl's gloves off his swords before turning towards her and saying, "Why are you in my room anyway?"

He was greeted by a skirt suddenly flying into his face, covering his vision and causing him to stumble. He flailed his arms around, trying to get the offending article of clothing off his head.

"Ack! What the–!?"

"Be a dear and go wash that for me, would you?" The girl said without a trace of malice in her voice. "It's gotten all dirty from fighting that annoying adamantian."

"Why don't you go and do it yourself?" Luso said, pulling the skirt off his head. Only to have his face smothered by yet another skirt.

"I'm a little tired, so I'll be going to sleep here. You can put my clothes outside the door when you're done."

"Sleep? Here?" The boy pulled off the second skirt and stood up. "This is my roo–Gah!"

Luso quickly spun around and covered his eyes with the skirts in his hands, as Adelle was in the middle of removing her more important garments.

"Hm?" The shameless girl didn't seem to mind Luso's sudden voyeurism and continued to remove her top. "You've never seen a naked girl before? You're quite a child."

"H–hey!" The boy stammered, trying to feel his way towards the exit, "Back where I used to live, no girl would ever take off their clothes in front of a guy!"

Adelle tossed her shirt onto Luso's head and began to work on the buckle of her belt. "Speaking of that, you never did get around to telling me about 'that world you came from'. I'm a little curious."

"H–how about you stop taking off your clothes first!" He shot back, grabbing the shirt off his head and tossing it back.

Adelle sighed and caught her shirt. Reluctantly, she pulled it back over her head and said, "All right. I'm decent now. You can stop covering your tomato face."

The brown haired boy sighed and pulled the skirts away from his face. _For a girl_, he thought, _she sure doesn't care about who might see her body._

"So what's this about your world?" She walked over to the bed and sat down on the soft mattress. She placed her elbow on her knee and propped her chin up with her hand, evidently anticipating what Luso's story is.

"Well uh..." Luso slumped onto the hardwood floor, scratching his head, "You probably won't believe me, but..."

"Try me."

"Okay then. I was cleaning a library when I found this weird book..."

* * *

**A/N: **I ought to update sooner. It's been what, three months? Apologies, everyone.


	14. For Tonight

**The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2**

* * *

**Chapter 14: **"For Tonight"

"Thanks for your hard work." The barman tipped his head and plunked a hefty bag of gil onto the counter. Cid opened it and plucked out one fat gold coin out of the bag. He placed it back into the barman's hand.

"Get me a drink, would you?"

The barman nodded and hustled off to fill a glass for the Revgaji. Cid took the rest of the bag and secured it onto his belt. The rest will be used for the clan's dinner tonight.

The tired Revgaji leaned back on his chair. It was only their second day here at Camoa, and it's already been quite an adventure. Cid smiled to himself. That boy's been handling himself rather well, despite being thrust into dangerous situations again and again. Mentally, he praised Luso for his fortitude.

"..!"

However, his smile suddenly disappeared off his face. A thought flashed through his mind, completely wiping away his previously happy feeling. His face creased into a dark frown. Right at this time, the barman had returned with a rather large mug of drink.

He instantly spotted Cid's sullen expression and said, "Why the long face? I thought you were pretty pleased with your hunt today."

"Oh," Cid looked up, now just realizing the return of the barman, "It's nothing, nothing. Just remembering a few bad memories, is all. My apologies."

"Ahaha, you don't have to apologize," the barman placed the mug down onto the counter with a wide smile, "I've had quite a lot of patrons here, drowning their sorrows in drink. It's nothing new here."

"I would expect so," Cid grasped the mug and raised it up to his mouth to drink, "Cheers."

He had barely began to drink before he was interrupted by a very familiar sound...

"Aaahehehehaa! Well if it isn't Master Cid!"

Cid choked on his drink and spent a few good seconds pounding his chest. He swiveled around to glare at the source of the laughter. Ribs, who had just emerged from a private room somewhere deeper in the tavern, was approaching him with his typical hearty laughter. Cid grunted in annoyance and was just about to look away until something beside Ribs caught his eye.

"Who's your friend?" he asked, gesturing to the raggedy looking man beside the Seeq. Ribs snorted and patted the man on the arm, the highest he can reach with his stubby legs.

"Just a client of mine! Just a client!" With another loud snort, he plopped himself down next to Cid. The man tipped his hood, nodded, and walked towards the exit of the tavern.

"Quite an odd friend you have there, Ribs." Cid remarked dryly, watching the man disappear into the crowd outside.

"Aaahehehehaa!" the Seeq laughed and withdrew his sack of stalks and began to feast on the green leafy vegetables. Cid drained the rest of his mug and set it back down.

"So how did your day go, Master Cid?"

"Went well enough," Cid replied while trying to flag down the barman with his hand, "Recruited someone into our clan, made a decent amount of gil, and got a nice workout. 'Twas a nice day."

"Aheha, that's right, You're in a clan now, Master Cid." He grabbed another fistful of stalks and shoved them all inside his mouth. A moment of loud chewing and gulping later, the Seeq wiped his mouth with his forearm and let out a loud belch. He turned around to face the Revgaji beside him, who was doubled over trying to keep the contents of his stomach inside of him, "What's wrong, Master Cid?"

"...I just suddenly remembered why you were banned from this place, Ribs." Cid grunted, "I'm assuming you were invited in by that hooded man?"

"Aye, I was. Nice person, I'd say. Even gave me this entire sack of stalks before I even told him my name!"

"Hm..." Cid straightened himself and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I don't think I've ever seen that man before. Was he a local?"

"Nah, he was a drifter." Ribs replied, "You won't get much information out of be about that man, Master Cid. Even I don't know who he is."

"A drifter, eh?"

"He did seem like he had a very important mission or whatever." The Seeq shrugged and dug inside his bag for another stalk. Only to find that the bag was completely empty. He picked it up and turned it upside down over his head, looking inside for any stalks left.

"All gone?" Cid said, with a slight relieved tone in his voice.

Ribs sighed and tossed the bag over his shoulder, "Aye..."

At that moment, the barman suddenly reappeared behind the counter. His face showing a strange expression of disgust and irritation. He took Cid's mug and refilled it with a pitcher he held in his other hand. Ribs grinned widely and waved.

"Why hello there barman, remember me?"

"Unfortunately. You're still on the blacklist, you know." The barman's reply was laced with venom. He pointed to a paper list tacked up beside the hunts board. Ribs' name was scribbled at the top of the list, right underneath the word "Blacklist."

"Aaahehehehaa!" Ribs laughed as he saw his name, "Well, how about we let bygones be bygones?"

"I still remember how your eating habits managed to scare around half of my customers out of my tavern. There wouldn't be a chance in hell that I would allow you back in here as a regular customer. Today was just an exception."

"Your memory's as admirable as always, old man!" the Seeq chuckled, "How about a drink? For old time's sake?"

"Errgh..." begrudgingly, the barman pulled up another mug and slammed it in front of the Seeq. "Just remember to pay before you leave."

"Aaahehehehaa!" Ribs simply reached towards his belt and extracted a single gil coin from his money pouch. The ends of the barman's mouth curled as he accepted the coin, filling the Seeq's mug in the process.

Cid drained his second mug and pushed himself up from the counter.

"Leaving already, Master Cid?"

"Just going out for some fresh air."

"I'll keep your drink safe for you, Aaahehehehaa!"

* * *

"...and that's how I've ended up here." Luso concluded. He looked up from his spot on the ground to see how Adelle would react to his recounting.

A pillow to the face greeted his efforts.

"Pfft! Ahahahaha!" Adelle laughed as Luso tried to get rid of the fluffy obstruction on his face.

"Why are you laughing?" Luso pulled off the pillow and stood up angrily, "You're the one who asked me to tell you!"

"Fffhahaha!" Adelle rolled back onto the bed while kicking her legs, "Ooh, that was a nice story boy. You'll be a good writer someday."

"What do you mean a nice story?" Luso challenged, "It's the truth! It really happened to me!"

"So let me get this straight," leaping off the bed, Adelle held up her hand and began to count off her fingers, "you opened a book in a library, wrote your name in it, and it somehow transported you from your world to Ivalice by the means of a magickal tornado?"

"That's right."

"And then you landed in the middle of Targ Woods, fought off a gigantic Crushatrice and joined that Revgaji's clan?" Adelle finsihed, closing off her fist.

"That's what I've just told you! Is it that hard to believe?"

"Naturally." Adelle brushed her hair back and flicked Luso on the forehead, "Even the most spooniest of bards wouldn't spin such a silly tale."

"Spoo–?!" Luso's words were cut short as he quickly turned around, as Adelle had begun to undress again.

"That was a nice little excursion, but if you wouldn't mind..." The girl lobbed the rest of her clothes over to the hapless boy and crawled underneath the bed covers. "Thanks for the bedtime story."

She rolled over and fell asleep. Leaving Luso standing there, hands full of clothes and utterly dumbstruck about what had just happened. Deciding that it would be a pointless venture to try and reclaim his room, the boy left through the door and closed it behind him with his foot. Mentally, he made a note to retrieve his belongings from inside tomorrow.

"Aaagh..." a groaning noise from somewhere around his side caught Luso's attention. He peeked around the side of his large clothing pile.

"Oh, hey there Lynd. Are you feeling better?"

The battered looking Bangaa supported his tired–looking body by leaning against the wall, "I've seen better days," he glanced over at the pile of clothes in the boy's arms, "what's with the mountain of clothes you have there? Thinking of opening a tailor shop?"

"Haha...no. I'm just going to take these to somewhere where they can be washed."

"I see," Lynd gingerly edged over towards Luso and pulled an article of clothing off his pile, "...but isn't this that woman's shirt?"

"Yeah...they're all Adelle's..." Luso admitted. Lynd raised an eyebrow at his listless response.

"That girl hasn't been with us for more than a day, and she's already had you wrapped all around her little finger?" the Bangaa chuckled to himself, "You're quite worthless with women, kid."

"W–what do you mean?!" the kid sputtered, "I'm just doing this because she asked me to!"

"Don't worry about it kid. I'm just joking," Lynd liberated half of the clothes from Luso's pile and carried it over his shoulder, "though, I do have a piece of advice for you."

"What?"

"Women are tough, troublesome creatures. Don't you ever let yourself get taken advantage by her."

"Huh?" Luso replied, confused. Lynd simply shook his head and headed down the stairs.

"You'll understand someday. Now come on, I feel a little parched as well."

* * *

While Luso and Lynd were busy trying to locate a water source for their own services, Edyal was busy with her own problems. Camoa isn't a dangerous city by any stretch of imagination, but all large cities have a common problem at night.

"It is too late..." Edyal muttered. The store she was standing in front of–Kint's Magick Depository–was already long closed. She had been planning on purchasing several more magickal spells before the end of the day, for the sake of practice. "Looks like that is not happening today..."

She sighed and shook her head, "Shame. If only we had returned a little earlier. Dragging that Bangaa's limp body took longer than I had expected. Maybe freezing him was not the best of choices after all..."

As the Nu Mou reflected on her own deeds by herself outside the store, a shadow slowly approached her in the dark alleyway. Edyal's sharp ears picking up the noise of a stranger's footsteps, she quickly materialized her staff and pointed it at the direction of the noise.

"Who is there?" Edyal commanded towards the darkness, "Show yourself!"

"Fufufu...your skills have not dulled one bit since you have left, Edyal..."

A Nu Mou emerged from out of the darkness, clutching a long rod. The Nu Mou tapped the ground with the rod once, and light spread out from the jewel set in the rod's tip, illuminating the deserted street. The Nu Mou pulled his hood back, revealing an old, wizened looking face. A jewel was embedded into the middle of his forehead, resembling the same one topping his rod. He smiled as he approached the Black Mage.

"Madreth," Edyal said, putting her staff away, "It has been a while."

"Yes, for much too long." Madreth replied genially, spreading his arms out in a gesture of affection, "How have you been?"

"I've been fine. What are you doing here?" Edyal backed up, avoiding the old Nu Mou's arms.

"Terse as always, Edyal. I'm hurt." Madreth's smile widened. He lowered his arms and approached Edyal, stopping right in front of her, "This is how you greet an old friend? Who specifically came all this way to meet you?"

"I was under the impression..." Edyal replied darkly, "...that I had made it known that I no longer want to have any dealings with the Nobles."

Madreth chuckled and patted her shoulder with a wrinkled hand. Edyal wrinkled her nose in disgust and slapped his hand off non–too–gently.

"I see you are still quite feisty," the scorned Arcanist pulled back his hand and narrowed his eyes, "however..."

In a deft movement, one of his arms shot out with an astonishing speed, grabbing onto Edyal's hand and pinning her against the wall. With his other hand, he held the rod against her face, pressed against her left cheek. Edyal winced as the bright light shined next to her eyes.

"What is this, Madreth?" Edyal said angrily, "Are you attempting to threaten me?"

"Oh no," the Arcanist replied, "I am no Bangaa. I am here to give you an offer."

"An offer?" Edyal attempted to push Madreth's body away from her, but he only pressed harder.

"That is correct. Either you rejoin the Nobles and assist us in our battle against the Brotherhood, or else..."

"Or else...?"

Madreth's rod began to shine brighter. It's ambient heat was beginning to sear into Edyal's skin. The message was clear.

"What will your answer be...Edyal?"

"Get out of my sight! And get that nasty thing away from my face!" with that outburst, Edyal spat into Madreth's grinning face. He recoiled and inadvertently released his grip on Edyal, allowing her to get away and rematerialize her staff. She twirled it once and began to murmur the incantation for a magick spell.

"You imbecile!" wiping the saliva away from his eyes, Madreth leapt back and also began to incant a spell. The two of them glared daggers at each other, both racing to see who will finish their incantations first.

"_The roaring beast that devours nature..._"

"_The filthy blood of a monster that desires revenge..._"

* * *

"Hm..?" Lynd looked up into the night sky, taking a pause from his washing. Luso looked up as well, confused.

"What is it Lynd?"

"I thought I just heard something..." he raised up one of his large, floppy ears and closed his eyes.

The two of them had reached the center of the town, now deserted and silent. Only the sound of splashing water from the solitary fountain surrounded them.

"Are you sure?" Luso said skeptically, attempting to wash a delicate piece of fabric with his eyes closed, "because all I can hear is the water running..."

"Yeah, I definitely hear something." Lynd stood up, letting the washpail drop from his hands. He picked up his sword and fastened it to his belt.

"Hey!" Luso opened his eyes, "where are you going?"

"I don't know, but something doesn't feel right." Lynd growled ominously, "you just wait here and finish washing those undergarments. I'll be back in a minute."

"Wait!" The boy's yells fell on deaf ears as the Bangaa tore off into the dark streets, leaving Luso behind holding a very questionable article of clothing. "Dang it! What was that all about?"

Turning back to the fountain, Luso tossed the triangle shaped cloth into a spare washpail and plucked out Adelle's pink shirt out of the pile.

"...huh," Luso looked down at the shirt. The conversation he had with Adelle suddenly flooded back into his mind. His world...the world that he had mysteriously vanished from, only to reappear in a different world altogether.

The recent events had gone by so fast, he didn't really have much time to reflect upon what might've happened while he was gone. He had disappeared from his world, and appeared in this one. So what is going on there while he is here? What about his Auntie? His friends? Do they know that he is gone?

_Are they worried about me?_ He wondered to himself, _I've been gone for almost four days now, my Auntie must know that something is wrong..._

He gazed up into the night sky. A bright moon was shining in the middle of all the stars.

_What is going to happen to me?_

* * *

_"Fire!"_

_"Poison!"_

A jet of fire flew out of the tip of Edyal's staff and collided with a glob of green goo in midair. The two magicks cancelled each other out and sent out a large shockwave of dust towards both combatants. Taking this chance, Edyal swiftly swung her staff to her side and instantly began to incant another spell.

"_Do as I know! Do as I live...!_"

"My my, you are quick to recompose yourself." Madreth cleared away the dust with one twirl of his rod, "Superb! You are making me more and more excited!"

"_Turn into a baleful form! Begone from my sight, you cretin!_"

"However...!" the Arcanist pointed the tip the rod straight at the Black Mage standing in front of him, "Such little parlor tricks will not defeat me! Madreth Mardereth, leader of the Nu Mou Nobles!"

"_Frog!_" Edyal spun her staff once and swung it towards the ground. Right as the head made contact with the cobblestone road, a large amount of purple gas began to spew out from the ground, as if she had struck some sort of gas geyser.

Twirling her staff like a conductor's baton, she directed the spraying gas like a snake charmer with his snake. Glaring straight at the Arcanist, Edyal pointed her staff directly at him. Instantly, the mass of purple rocketed towards Madreth like a gigantic arrow.

"How riveting!" Madreth watched as the gaseous snake began to approach him at a high speed, "But what is with your pathetic magick? Did I not provide you with a veritable amount of magick spells in the past?"

"I have long discarded everything that you have given me, Madreth!" Edyal declared, glaring straight at him, "I have forgotten all of those horrible spells you have implanted inside me, and I will never allow you to tamper with my magick again!"

"So ungrateful!" The mass of purple enveloped Madreth as soon as it reached him, obscuring his body completely. Edyal stared into the cloud, not letting down her guard for a second. Knowing Madreth, a basic Frog spell would not be enough to take him down.

"You were always my favorite, Edyal." Madreth's voice echoed out from inside the purple cloud, "It hurts me as your mentor to have to do this..."

"_Twist the very fabric of our universe! Drive a nail deep into our very own logic!_"

The purple gas clouds around Madreth were suddenly blown away, as if a bomb had exploded from underneath his feet. His rod was glowing a vibrant blue color, with it he began to trace an intricate pattern in the air, like a painter on a canvas. The blue light from the rod stained the very air as if it was painting the very air itself.

"Oh no...!" Recognizing the spell, Edyal attempted to run away from the Arcanist. However, her body had suddenly become extremely heavy. It felt as though her arms and legs were being shackled to the very ground itself.

"_Are you ready for this, Edyal? GRAVITY!_"

The pattern of light in the air shimmered for a few seconds, then fizzled away like an old television set. In a flash, however, the same pattern reappeared underneath Edyal's feet. Suddenly, the entire area around her became wildly distorted.

"Ggghhhhaaaa!!" Edyal could see her vision becoming more and more unfocused, as if the entire world was wobbling in front of her eyes. The weight was slowly becoming more and more unbearable. She dropped her staff and fell down to her knees.

"So, Edyal," pleased at the results of his spell, Madreth walked over to the struggling Black Mage and knelt down. He cupped her chin with his hand and lifted her head up to look at him, "Are you having second thoughts about your choice?"

Finding speech to be a difficult task to do in this situation, all Edyal could do was glare angrily back at her assailant. Madreth grinned. He took his rod and waved it over Edyal's body. Instantly, she could feel the gravity around her nearly double in pressure. She fell off her knees and was now being pressed against the ground face first. Her pointed straw hat was nearly completely flattened now.

"A pity. I did not want to resort to doing this." Madreth shrugged, pulling out a small corked vial from inside his robes, "but you are such a pain to deal with, and I do not have all the time in the world to play with you. So let us wrap this up, shall we?"

He uncorked the vial and swirled the liquid inside ominously.

"_...beast that devours...nature..._"

"Hm...?" Madreth leaned down, placing his ears next to Edyal's face, "Did you say something? My dear?"

"..._crimson flame...into...ashes..."_

Madreth's eyes widened. He laughed loudly and stood up, "An incantation? In the state you're in? I am quite impressed, Edyal!"

"_Fire...!_"

The tip of Edyal's staff flared up. A bright red glow expanded from inside the wooden head like a freshly lit lantern. With the last of her strength, Edyal swung her arm out and hit the staff, rotating the head towards Madreth.

However, Madreth simply walked up to the staff and kicked it away, making it fire it's spell into the air. A bright red streak flew into the night sky, blazing across the white moon.

"That was a nice try, Edyal." he commented as he watched the fire dissipate into a spread of colorful sparks, "but that was just what it was. A nice try."

Madreth looked back down at Edyal. For some reason, she was sporting a smile on her face.

"What's so funny, Edyal?"

"...so here's where the noise was coming from..." a stranger's voice suddenly cut into their midst, making the Arcanist look around for the source of the intrusion.

"Who's there?!"

Lynd emerged from the entrance of the street, sword drawn and staring intently at the Nu Mou in front of him. Madreth quickly spun around and twirled his rod in preparation for a spell. In that instant, Lynd sped towards the Arcanist.

"A Bang–?!" Madreth's exclamation was cut short as a silver sword suddenly descended in front of his face, making him close his eyes in shock. When he opened them again, his rod had been severed. The jeweled head lied on the ground, rolling away.

"That's right, a Bangaa." Lynd knocked the rest of the rod out of Madreth's hands. The Arcanist quickly thrust his hands inside his robes and withdrew a small hidden dagger, but Lynd simply struck his hands with the hilt of his sword and made him drop that as well. The Bangaa grabbed Madreth by the collar and lifted him up with incredible ease.

"A dirty lizard! What are you doing here?" Madreth spat out, his expression a mask of rage and fury, "Do not tell me you are here to help out Edyal, a Nu Mou!"

"...Edyal?" Lynd looked over Madreth's head. Edyal was busy trying to pull herself back up, "What a surprise! I didn't expect you to be here as well."

"Likewise." Edyal grunted. Her entire body was beginning to ache and chafe uncomfortably. Even trying to get up to one knee was proving to be a difficult task. Lynd smirked and said.

"I guess this makes us even, eh?"

Lynd returned his attention back to his captive, who was busy trying to pound on Lynd's muscular fist with his own, with little success. In response, Lynd spun around powerfully, taking the Arcanist with him. At the end of his spin, he let go of Madreth's robes, letting the Nu Mou fly into the nearest wall. He landed with a satisfying thump and crumpled weakly onto the ground.

"That was for calling me a lizard, by the way." Lynd walked over to Edyal and extended a hand to help her up. The ailing Nu Mou looked up at Lynd's smug, smiling face and frowned. She slapped his hand away and said coldly,

"I do not need your help. I can get up myself, you brute."

"Tch, even insulting someone who just saved your life. You ungrateful woman..."

Regardless, Lynd reached down and hoisted Edyal up by the back of her black mage robes. Forcefully placing her back on her feet, albeit awkwardly. She stumbled around a bit before accidentally colliding into Lynd's body.

"What are you doing here anyway?" She asked, pushing herself away from him, "I fired off that last fire spell because I thought Cid or someone else was around! I thought you were still resting due to that little sojourn you had in the ice block!"

"And whose fault was that?" Lynd shot back angrily, "Half of my body still hurts like hell because of that little stunt you pulled there!"

"You deserved it."

"What did I do to deserve that?!"

Edyal crossed her arms and looked away with a huff.

"Gah, I hate dealing with you!" Lynd stamped the ground angrily and looked away. Madreth had recovered from his impact and was beginning to pull himself up as well. Lynd gave a low whistle.

"You're tougher than you look, Nu Mou!" Madreth snarled and glared at Lynd. He pointed a shaking finger at Edyal,

"Youuuu!" He shouted angrily, "You would dare betray your own race and associate with this...this..._this_ _lizard!_"

"You're seriously getting on my nerves there, Nu Mou," Lynd growled, raising his sword back up, "call me lizard one more time, I dare you."

"Calm it, Lynd." Edyal pushed Lynd's raised sword down with her staff. She glared at the snarling Arcanist with a look of pure venom. Lynd was surprised at her expression. He had never seen Edyal give that sort of look to anyone else before, not even to himself.

"I will give you my answer, Madreth." Edyal pointed the tip of her staff at him, "You stay away from me, for I will never rejoin the Nu Mou Nobles. You understand me?"

"Tch..." Madreth glanced down. A strange white liquid was spilling out of the vial he had uncorked earlier. It splattered onto the street and formed small rivers in the grooves between the cobblestones before being absorbed into the dirt.

"So whatever nefarious plan you had in store for me, you had better give them up now."

"Just you wait, Edyal. I will get you back on our side soon enough. The Nu Mou Nobles will achieve victory in the end. You shall see!"

"Oh shut up and leave already." Edyal responded in an uncharacteristically harsh voice. Madreth opened his mouth, apparently intent on having the last word. He glanced over at the Bangaa, who still had his sword drawn and ready to cut him at any time. Instead of restarting the conversation again, he decided to reach inside his robes instead. He withdrew a small yellow crystal.

"We will meet again, Edyal."

A glow and a flash later, Madreth had disappeared from the street. Leaving only the Bangaa and the Nu Mou behind. Edyal sighed and leaned on her staff, her body still tired and aching from that battle. Lynd crossed his hands behind his head and turned towards the Nu Mou and asked,

"So what was that all about? Old friend of yours?"

"Hardly."

"What was he talking about? What are the Nu Mou Nobles?"

"I don't know. And you shut up too. The last thing I need now is some brute like you assaulting me with questions."

"Tch," Lynd snorted. He sheathed his sword and turned towards the entrance of the street, "That's fine with me. I'm heading back to the inn now. You try not to be attacked again on the streets, woman."

As he began to walk away, Edyal stared at his retreating back for a few moments before,

"Wait."

"What is it now?"

"...I do not..." Edyal mumbled, a red blush creeping up her cheeks. Lynd turned around, staring at the Nu Mou with a quizzical expression on his face.

"I didn't hear that, can you repeat it?"

"..." Edyal's face became more and more red as the seconds trickled by, "...I...do not have any energy left to walk..."

"Yeah, and?"

"...I need someone to carry me back..." Edyal looked down, ashamed at her own words.

Suddenly, she could feel herself being lifted high up from the ground. Lynd had grabbed her by the waist, and was now carrying her over his shoulder effortlessly.

"H–hey! What do you think you are doing?"

"You said carry you back, right?" Lynd stated matter–of–factly, "So that's what I'm doing, carrying you back."

"You brute!" Edyal began to kick and swing her fists, only to fall limp in a few seconds due to her own exhaustion.

"Just clam it for tonight." Lynd retorted, "for your information, I'm not enjoying this either."

Edyal grumbled for a few seconds before falling silent. Edyal sneaked a glance at Lynd's face. He looked carefree, almost unaffected by the fact that he is carrying someone who nearly hurts him on a daily basis. She thought to herself, why was it that they were always fighting?

Only she knew the reason.

* * *

**A/N:** The biggest problem I had with writing this chapter was the name of the Nu Mou Noble guy. Was it Madreth or was it Mardereth? My new save on FFTA2 wasn't far enough to have those quests, so I had to go check on the wikia. Unfortunately, it didn't clear up whether or not it was Madreth or Mardereth either. Ay.

This is the first time Edyal ever lost her cool. Truly, a momentous occasion.


	15. Family

**The First Grimoire: Final Fantasy Tactics A2**

* * *

**Chapter 15: **"Family"

"Uuuuuh..." Cid let his head fall onto the wooden table with a thump. He had spent all night drinking it up in the tavern with Ribs and was now experiencing the aftermath. Pinching his brow, he slowly pulled himself up and leaned back on his chair.

The tavern was completely empty. All the patrons had either left before the morning or had been carted off by worried family members. In the end, only Cid was left lying on the counter in his own drink–induced slumber.

He glanced around the deserted tavern. Empty drink mugs and plates with unfinished food were strewn all around. The barman, probably gone to bed long before Cid woke up, was nowhere in sight. Feeling a little ashamed of himself, Cid pushed himself up and shook his head to try and catch his senses. A sudden noise behind him made him turn around.

"Oh, morning Cid!" Luso, carrying a large pile of clothes in his hands, came into the tavern through the front door, "Was this where you were all night?"

"Ur...gh..." The hung – over Revgaji covered his face with his hand, embarrassed to be seen in this state. Oblivious, Luso walked over to the nearest clean table and dropped his load on top of it. Cid watched the boy out of the corner of his eye. A single thought ran through his head,

_What's with all these clothes?_ Cid picked up a single garment from the pile. His eyes narrowed as he identified it as a woman's pants. More specifically, Adelle's pants. Cid's blond eyebrow lifted a few centimeters as he tried to connect the dots.

"...Luso..." Cid said slowly, "why were you carrying that girl's clothes with you...?"

"To be honest," Luso slumped into a seat and closed his eyes, "I don't even know why."

Cid scratched his head and looked at Luso. The boy appeared to be exhausted, as if he had been staying up all night. His clothes were soaked, and his hands seem to be pruned from being submerged in water for an extended period of time.

"Did you stay up all night?" Cid asked in a concerned voice.

"Yeah..." Luso flopped down onto the table and buried his head inside his arms, "I'm tired. I was at that fountain washing these clothes all night, since Lynd disappeared halfway through and never came back."

"Lynd?" Cid rubbed his chin, "I saw him coming back to the inn yesterday night. He was carrying a sleeping Edyal on his back, if I remember correctly."

"Carrying...? Man, what happened yesterday night?"

Cid shrugged. His own memory was pretty slurred after ingesting a ridiculous amount of alcohol yesterday. Mentally, he made a note to never agree to drink with Ribs ever again. Seeqs can hold their liquor quite...no, extremely well.

Feeling a headache coming up, Cid pulled up a seat next to Luso, closed his eyes and leaned back. Luso lifted his head slightly and turned to face him,

"Hey, Cid?"

"Aye, what is it kid?" Cid replied, opening his eyes to look at the boy.

"Do you believe that I'm really from another world?" Luso stated plainly. Cid opened one of his eyes and looked over at Luso. A grin cracked on his dark face.

"What's this now?" he said, slightly amused, "Where did this question pop up from?"

"Hey, it's not funny!" Luso caught the sneaky grin and crossed his arms, "I'm asking you a serious question here!"

"Ahahaha," Cid covered his face with his hand, "alright, then let me be serious for you then."

When he took his hand off, his grin had vanished. In it's place was a face that wouldn't be out of place in a funeral or a war. Sitting upright, he turned and glared straight at the young boy. Showing him his seriousness. Luso cringed slightly.

"I didn't mean _that_ serious..." Cid's expression softened, and he broke into a series of small chuckles. Luso sighed in relief, Cid could be really scary if he wanted to.

"Hahaha..." Cid recomposed himself, he patted Luso on his brown–haired head and smiled gently, "There's no way I would distrust one of my own clan members, Luso."

"Really...?"

"Huh," the clan leader leaned back on his chair, balancing on two legs, "Despite what you may think, an event like yours isn't all that unbelievable. This world is filled with mysterious and magickal occurrences." He took his thumb and pointed to his own chest, "When you're as old as I am, you simply stop disbelieving things or being surprised."

"You don't look very old though." Luso blurted out. Cid laughed and patted the boy on the back cheerfully.

"Ahaha, I'll take that as a compliment. Thanks Luso."

"Hehe." Luso looked up at the Revgaji and flashed him a wide smile, which Cid reciprocated.

"Come to think of it," Cid rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "didn't you buy a new sword yesterday? I noticed that you were carrying two on yourself while we were staking out the field."

"Oh yeah," instinctively, Luso reached behind his back to draw his new longsword. His eyes narrowed as he groped the air behind him, feeling nothing come into his grasp. He stood up and turned his head around to look at his back. There was his belt, but there were no swords. Not even the sheaths were present.

"Agh...!" Luso slapped the side of his head, "My swords! I left them back in my room yesterday!" He shot up from his chair, and looked up towards the stairs that lead up to the second floor bedrooms.

"Hmm...well then." Cid stood up and started towards the entrance of the pub, "you go and retrieve your swords, then meet me outside. Let's have a little training session in the fields afterwards, aye?"

"Okay!" The boy energetically saluted and tore up the stairs.

"That boy's enthusiasm is contagious," Cid mused to himself, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "I feel as though I've suddenly become a few years younger."

* * *

Thud, thud, thud. Dull noises came from the wooden door as Luso pounded repeatedly against it. He was locked out of his own room, and the perpetrator was most likely still asleep. Luso ground his teeth frustratingly and called out through the door.

"Hey, cat!" He yelled, "open the door! I gotta get my stuff!"

Silence. Either Adelle really is asleep, or was ignoring him. Irritated, Luso aimed a kick at the door with is foot.

"Ouch!"

Predictably, he ended up hurting his toes against the tough wooden door. He leaned against the door with his back, his eyes watering slightly from the stinging pain. With his left hand, he grasped the doorknob and futilely tried to turn it. Giving up, he slid down the door and sat on the floor.

_This is the worst..._ he closed his eyes and sighed, _first I was forced out of my own room, then I had to clean her laundry, and now I'm losing my opportunity to learn more about fighting from Cid._

He threw his head back and yelled, his eyes still closed, "Thanks a lot, Adelle!"

"You're welcome. Though, I don't quite know what you're thanking me for."

Luso's eyes quickly snapped open. The door had suddenly opened wide, removing the thing that was supporting his back. He flopped backwards and into the door, clonking his noggin against the tough wooden floor. He cringed and clutched the back of his head for a few seconds before pulling himself back onto his feet. Adelle simply stood beside him, wearing a bemused expression on her face.

"Well, that is an interesting way to greet someone in the morning."

Luso pushed himself up and glared at Adelle, "I've got a bone to pick with youuuu..."

He trailed off.

"Well? What reason would you have to wake me out of bed this early, Luso?" Adelle replied quizzically, clutching her blankets tightly around her. The boy quickly covered his eyes with his hand and thrust his other hand in front of Adelle's face.

"C-can you please wear something first?" He stammered, averting his gaze away from her bare body. His face was glowing a luminescent red.

Amused, Adelle let a mischievous grin appear on her face. She deliberately circled around the boy and loosened her blankets slightly. "I would clothe myself..." She said teasingly, "...but the person cleaning it seems to have forgotten my clothes."

"...eh...?" Luso, still turning away from the nearly bare woman, "...oh, your clothes...um...they're lying downstairs...on the...tables..."

His mind was wiped completely blank. His feeble, teenager mind was futilely trying to comprehend the current situation. Adelle simply stood next to him, giving a sly smile while she took great pleasure in watching the boy squirm uncomfortably.

"Well then. Would you mind heading back down and delivering me my clothes? It is awfully drafty when all you're wearing is a thin blanket." Adelle gestured to her garb as she finished her request.

"Right...clothes...cold...drafty..." Luso spluttered as he turned around to head down the stairs again.

Adelle watched as the boy stumbled off the steps in his daze. She giggled to herself as she walked back into her room. She reached underneath the bed and pulled out a small chest. From inside, she extracted a set of clothes, identical to the outfit she was wearing yesterday.

After slipping on her clothes, she glanced over to the table beside the bed. Two swords were lying on the wooden surface, ostensibly owned by the boy who just nearly fell off the staircase. After a moment's silence, she picked up the two swords and carried them with her as she exited out into the hallway.

The silver haired girl smiled to herself_._

_ It's time for breakfast, hmm?_

_

* * *

_

The Dias Plains. A wide stretch of green grass and the occasional tree or two. A popular location for adventurers and city-dwellers alike. The cool shade given off by the trees on the plains make for prime napping spots. Narrow paths made of weathered stone and dirt criss-cross the landscape, directing travelers toward the city, or towards new destinations.

"...I'm lost."

The drifter scratched his hooded head and let loose a sigh. He took out a roll of parchment and unfurled it. It was a nearly illegible map, looking as though it was drawn by one who had no clue what the word 'finesse' meant.

A crooked line stretched out from a small square labeled 'Camoa,' and snaked through little upright lines, topped with triangles – a forest, perhaps? Then the line continues towards another square, this time surrounded by little wavy lines – the ocean? Finally, the line goes through a series of triangles before finally terminating in a sloppy star symbol labeled 'Your destination here!"

To an uninformed person, this 'map' would look like something a child had drawn in two minutes.

"I can't make heads or tails of this stupid map." The hooded man grumbled as he turned the map upside down, "Which way is north?"

"If you're heading north, you might want to go that way."

The drifter spun around, hastily sticking the map back inside his cloak while drawing a sword at the same time. He pointed the short, silver blade at the Revgaji's face. Unfazed, Cid raised up his hands and stepped back.

"Who are you?" The drifter demanded, keeping his sword trained on him.

"Do you usually greet people with your sword?"

"Answer the question, Revgaji."

"The name's Cid. We've met briefly yesterday, don't you remember?"

"...huh, that's right. You're that Seeq's friend, aren't you?"

"Aye. Though I would rather you consider us acquaintances."

The drifter chuckled and sheathed his sword. His map flopped out of his cloak and fluttered down at Cid's feet. The Revgaji picked it up and examined it.

"Did your son draw this?" Cid handed it back over to the man, grinning a bit.

"Very funny." He took it back and shrugged, "The Seeq streetear drew it for me. Not too well, as you can see."

"Ribs was never one for finesse." Cid commented, "You're probably better off asking him for directions to the nearest pub rather than across the continent."

"Ahaha..." The drifter crossed his arms and tilted his head in agreement.

"So where are you heading off to, stranger?" Cid asked while pointing at the map in the man's hands, "I'm no cartographer, but I think I might be able to help you make heads or tails out of this."

"Much obliged." The drifter unfurled the map and handed it over to the Revgaji.

"You're going towards the mountains, I assume." Cid pointed to the little triangles on the left hand side of the map, "The Rupie Mountains."

"So that's what those are? I thought that was just another forest."

"Aye, but look here. These triangles have little lines protruding from their undersides," he jabbed a finger at the rows of trees, "the forest where this line is heading towards is probably the Zedlei Forest."

"The Zedlei Forest, huh?" The drifter swung his head around, scanning the landscape for any forests. Unfortunately, everything on the horizon consisted of nothing but flat, plain grass.

"It's not close to Camoa at all. Ribs is a terrible judge of distances." Cid raised his arm and pointed towards the fields behind them, "The closest city from Rupie is Graszton. That's the way you ought to be heading."

"...Graszton." The drifter hung his head and covered his face with his hand.

Cid raised an eyebrow at the man's reaction, "something wrong with Graszton?"

"Well...it wouldn't be so bad, if it wasn't for the fact that I _came_ from there."

"Ahh...my condolences then."

The drifter gave an exaggerated sigh and slumped his entire body forward. His hood fluttered in the wind as he made a pitiful pose. Cid patted his back sympathetically.

* * *

A few minutes later. A boy and a girl walked down the travel–worn road leading towards the Dias Plains. In his right hand, Luso carried both his longsword and his broadsword, clutching the two in a death grip in an attempt to keep them steady in his hand. His other hand was currently occupied with balancing a pile of boxes, each precariously stacked on top of each other.

His stamina was at his limits. Luso turned his head towards the girl and spoke in a pleading tone, "Adelle...I'm exhausted. Can you please carry some of your own boxes?"

Adelle shook her head and grinned mischievously, "Nope. Consider this your punishment for peeping in on a naked woman this morning."

"...you sure seemed calm then." Luso grumbled, his face flushing red again as the memory from this morning resurfaced within his head. He dropped his head onto the boxes in embarrassment. Adelle simply giggled and stretched out her body, basking in the rays of the morning sun.

"Say, can I ask you a question?" She said, arching her upper body backwards.

"Go ahead."

"Do you have any family?" Adelle asked casually, cradling the back of her head with her hands. Luso lifted his head up and glanced at her with narrow eyes.

"Why do you ask?" He shot back suspiciously. Adelle ignored his glare and looked up into the clouds.

"I'm just curious." She said, waving her hand as if she was waving aside his suspicion, "you claimed that you're from another world or something, right?"

"You didn't believe me when I told you," Luso pouted, "but yeah. I do have a family of sorts."

"'Of sorts?'" Her interest piqued, the girl stopped looking at the sky and looked at him, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I've been raised by my aunt for almost my entire life." Luso said, "I've never met my parents before."

"You've never met your parents?"

He nodded, "My aunt never talks about them. Every time I ask her, she would just change the subject or ignore me."

"Heeeh..." Adelle glanced questioningly at Luso's face, "and you never bothered to confront her about it?"

"Well, that thought did cross my mind a few times in the past, but I eventually just stopped caring." Luso replied, turning away from her face, "It wasn't really important to me. I was living well with my aunt and my life was happy. So I just stopped asking."

"Well, if it was me, I would've kept badgering your aunt until she gave me all the information." Adelle replied haughtily, crossing her arms behind her head, "I don't like it when people keep secrets from me, especially if the secrets pertain about me!"

Luso shook his head and said, "Then here's a question for you. What about _your_ family?"

"My family?" Adelle grinned, "Aren't you the nosy one?"

"What? You asked me the same question!"

"It's rude to ask a lady about her personal life, you know." Adelle stuck out her tongue teasingly, "But if you must know, I hail from a normal family."

"Normal?"

"Yes, a normal family. A father, a mother, a grandfather, and a slew of siblings."

"A slew of siblings? You mean you had a lot of brothers and sisters?" Luso asked, "Were you all really close?

"Something of that sort." Adelle replied, brushing her hair back, "We're all separated though. Each and every one of us left to seek out our own dreams and fortunes."

"Do you miss them?"

"Not particularly. We were all extremely independent."

* * *

**A/N:** Blugh. Between losing an entire year's worth of data on the computer, corrupting my FFTA2 save, and a crapton new games driving my attention away from writing...yeah, let's say I was incredibly distracted and frustrated for quite a while.

Hopefully, I'll update more frequently in the future.


End file.
